


flowers for your enemies (you're not the end of me)

by Salty_Cro



Series: Mani: an Overwatch Original Character [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Brainwashing, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Flowers, Hypnotism, M/M, Memory Loss, Original Character(s), Self-Discovery, Slow Burn, Trans Male Character, Travel, extremely self indulgent, parent angst, this is a lot longer than I thought it would be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-03-24 13:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 42,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13812366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salty_Cro/pseuds/Salty_Cro
Summary: Mani has been picked up by Talon, where he goes on missions he couldn't care less about. When Lúcio joins the fight on Overwatch's side, Mani has a hard time fighting him. Between Sombra pushing them together and everyone else's disagreement with them, are they the gay, happily ending Romeo and Juliet the world didn't know it needed?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is going to be pretty self indulgent so be prepared for a lot of side ships.

Talon, for the most part, was reasonable. Most missions were simple reconnaissance and intelligence recovery. Talon dealt in under-the-table negotiations and back-alley tradeoffs. Very rarely would they make a big show of something. At least, that was under Gabriel’s lead.

 

Now, Akande Ogundimu had returned from prison, still under the (honestly overdramatic) title of “Doomfist.” And the missions, like the man in general, were a bit more direct in their endeavors. So Mani came to find himself in more dangerous situations each time he was sent out.

 

As far as Mani was concerned, he couldn’t care less when it came to Talon’s shady ideals and goals. That meant he didn’t really feel like risking his life for them, and was getting less and less indifferent with every new assignment. He didn’t say anything, though, because a termination from Talon was extremely literal.

 

At the moment, Mani was in New York City accompanying some people he didn’t agree with to affirm a deal he would rather not know about with a less than savory CEO of a coverup business. He was instructed to stand and look menacing (something he was surprisingly good at) and use his “persuasion” should the other side not cooperate. So Mani stood behind the tall, chrome and green-metal omnic and the short, red-haired man patiently.

 

Well, maybe patiently wasn’t a good way to put it. Mani hated his job. But he wasn’t going to risk escaping, especially now that he had become somewhat attached to some of his coworkers. But the meeting was so boring. No one was even saying anything real. It was all a predesigned code meant to confuse anyone wiretapping the room. Mani had a hard time keeping up, but he had eyes on everyone in the room, watching for signs of agitation or hidden motives.

 

Mani convinced himself that it would be stupid for the other side to try and take them down. Talon had more of anything than the people could hope to have. And even if they did, they wouldn’t waste time killing a few expendables over a business deal. Mani groaned; he had gotten caught up in the politics of it all. Not to mention the fact that he wasn’t an expendable, so he really hoped someone would come for him if he were threatened, at least in the best interest of Talon.

 

Hold on. A slight twitch of one of the other side’s bodyguards distracted Mani from his thoughts. Their hand had moved slightly towards the obvious concealed carry tucked into their waistband. Mani glanced around the room, looking for any other signs of unrest in the other guards. He refocused on the one that moved. They made eye contact, before the other looked back to the men talking. 

 

Eighteen seconds later, the other guard shifted, and glanced around the room. Something was off. The man sitting behind the desk sounded a lot more confident suddenly. Mani resisted flashing his eyes; nothing had happened yet.

 

Mani had spoke (or thought) too soon because he heard three foot taps, and all hell broke loose. The two bodyguards for the other side started firing at the men standing in front of Mani, and when they fell, the man behind the desk had his own miniature particle cannon (Mani figured they must have ties with Volskaya, making them stronger than he originally thought) trained at Mani.

 

“Now, what is your secret?” the man asked.

 

“I’m just a bodyguard. Ex-Los Muertos, if that’s what you’re asking,” Mani said coolly.

 

“Why only send one guard for two people? I have three with me at all times,” the man asked accusingly.

 

“I’ve seen a lot of this shit, so maybe they thought I was capable,” Mani shrugged, “Or, more likely, these two are expendable. You should have heard them on the craft over here. Complete dumbasses.”

 

“Hmmm. I don’t think so. I think you’re hiding something. Talon can’t pull one over on me, no,” the man said, raising an eyebrow. He lowered his gun slowly. “I’ll be in touch.”

 

The man began to walk out of the room, Mani watching him go. The guards followed. Mani quickly pulled out his gun, shot one of them, and grazed the man in charge. This was a bad call, as the surviving guard tossed a grenade (why is it always explosives) behind themself into the room where Mani was now alone. Great.

 

Mani sprinted as far away as the room would allow, behind a tall leather chair that would at least block some of the fragments. From the look of it, it was high-grade military, something civilians couldn’t legally buy. Not the newest one, but it used hard light to detonate without being identifiable after the explosion. And the radius was larger than the room. 

 

The detonation was quick. The force of it blasted a hole in the surrounding area and slammed Mani into the wall. He dropped to the ground, knocking his head on the remaining floorboards. He was out instantly.

 

~-~

 

Consistent beeping. It matched the throbbing in Mani’s head. He opened his eyes. White light shone through his crusted eyelashes. Mani frowned. This was not the Talon medbay. There was too much noise, too many doctors bustling around. He peered around, trying to figure out which hospital he was in. Unfortunately, no signage revealed it to him.

 

In fact, only one thing in the room stood out. On the bedside table, a clear cylindrical vase held seven chrysanthemums and six green orchids. A small folded piece of  blue paper sat next to the vase. Mani flexed his fingers before reaching for the note. He brought it closer and unfolded it.

 

“This is the second time  I have we’ve found you, so I’m guessing we’re on different sides. Either way, try not to make it a third time.” The note was cryptic, but Mani could only think of one organization that would have been at both places.

 

Sombra had told him about Overwatch reforming, but he hadn’t cared enough at the time to believe it. Now he had to, because who else would pick him up out of a wrecked building? Someone new who didn’t recognize the signs of Talon employment, that’s who. That narrowed down the list a lot, and he could ask Sombra when he got back.

 

Speaking of which, when would they come pick him up? He wasn’t expendable like the other two, and the comms would have died, which would have raised suspicion. So someone should be coming soon, right?

 

The wait wasn’t long. After about an hour, no nurses had come to check on him, and sure enough Gabriel appeared. He was explaining to a doctor how Mani was his son who had to be transferred to a private hospital at home because of his special sensory needs. Mani resisted the urge to laugh at the explanation. They used it every time, but the idea of Gabriel becoming their dad every time Mani, Sombra, or Amelie were admitted into a hospital never stopped being funny.

 

The doctor gave in quickly. The IV was unhooked, the heart rate monitor detached, and the disposable papery fabric clothes switched out for a set of all-black fatigues. Mani was still shaky from the damage. However, he refused Gabriel’s help and staggered out the door.

 

“Aww, eres mi papá, qué dolce,” Mani said. It was the fourth time he had said that, but it was still funny to him. Gabriel just sighed, causing Mani to giggle again.

 

“You’re lucky I came to pick you up. Akande would not tolerate this much laughter,” Gabriel said. They walked to the elevator.

 

“You just need to teach him how to have fun,” Mani said. The elevator slowly moved downward, trapping the two together.

 

“And he definitely wouldn’t appreciate stuff like that,” Gabriel said. Mani smirked.

 

“And you do?” Mani teased. Gabriel said nothing. “You know you two are perfect for each other.”

 

“You know what, I’m gonna tell him you said that,” Gabriel smiled, raising his eyebrows. They walked out of the elevator, through the lobby, and into the parking lot.

 

“You do that, see how it goes for you,” Mani replies in turn. 

 

“Sure, as soon as you tell me who those flowers were from,” Gabriel said, unlocking the car. Mani shrugged and got in.

 

“I don’t know, they were just there when I woke up. I was gonna have Sombra look into them,” Mani said.

 

“Whatever you say,” Gabriel said. They peeled out of the parking lot and drove towards the aircraft.

 

~-~

 

Two weeks later, Mani had forgotten about the flowers. Almost as soon as he had gotten back, he was swept up in briefing after briefing. Akande and Maximilien had wanted as much information on what happened as possible. By the end of it, Mani had recited the story so many times he wasn’t even sure it was true anymore. Any memory of the hospital was pushed out by the repeated warning to tell the truth. 

 

The higher-ups allowed him to rest and recover for another week and a half. He did absolutely nothing productive, something he prided himself on being able to do when most of the people around him were breathing down his neck. Unfortunately, the fun had to end.

 

Amelie, Sombra, and Mani were dropped off at a hotel in some midwestern state. They were there to locate and kill a target. Mani didn’t actually listen to the briefing, so it was likely there was more to it than that. He didn’t care, though, so he figured he would just get it over with as soon as possible.

 

The target was, according to Sombra, going to be at a restaurant with some friends. Mani figured at least she would die happy. Mani was supposed to go inside with Sombra and stake out her table. Amelie would stay on a rooftop across the street waiting for her to exit the building. At least Talon was nice enough to not get blood on the nice hardwood floors.

 

The night that they were meant to go out started like any other mission. They got dressed and took a rental car to the restaurant. They were led to a table by the hostess. Restaurants made Mani wary, after the incident at the bar in Germany. But there he was, sitting at a table with Sombra in a “Bar & Grill” several hundred miles from base. It wasn’t so bad. The food was okay, and they were allowed a drink each.

 

“How’s the food? Anything I can get you?” A waiter asked with a painted-on smile. 

 

“It’s good, and can I get a coke, please?” Sombra asked. The waiter nodded and went to go get it. Once he was gone, Sombra made a pointed face. “Behind you. Possible Overwatch.”

 

Mani took out his phone and turned on the front-facing camera, angling it so he could see two people in a booth a few feet away. One had long black hair and was wearing a cyan dress, and the other was--

 

“He’s working with Overwatch now?” Mani asked disbelievingly across the table. He knew they were hiring celebrities now, but he didn’t know Lúcio would be on that list. Sombra nodded.

 

“Yeah, did I not tell you? I know you follow him on twitter. He’s at least helping them, from what I can see he’s not with them full time,” Sombra said.

 

“Huh. I mean, makes sense I guess,” Mani said. Sombra nodded. “So, they’re probably here to stop us, right?”

 

“Yeah, but will they?” Sombra pointed out.

 

“Widowmaker checking in, they have a sniper on the building next to target location,” Amelie said through the comms. Mani frowned.

 

“Push him back. We’ll hold the target just in case, but I don’t think she’ll be out for a while,” Sombra instructed.

 

“Understood,” Amelie said. No more sound came through.

 

“Wonder how many they sent,” Mani said.

 

“More than us.” Sombra gestured to the a table across the room where Jesse McCree and an older lady with an eyepatch in a blue hijab sat. Mani recognized her after a moment as Ana Amari.

 

“This won’t end well,” Mani commented. He hoped his tone indicated that he wanted to just leave.

 

“We can’t abandon the mission,” Sombra said, meaning she understood him.

 

“Then I guess we’ll have to fight our way out,” Mani sighed dramatically.

 

The waiter returned, carrying Sombra’s ordered drink. “Here you go, anything else I can get for you?”

 

“We’re good, thanks,” Mani said. The waiter was blocking their view of the target’s table. The waiter seemed to be doing it on purpose, as he lingered for a moment before moving away to talk to a different table.

 

“Widow, are you online,” Mani said into the comms.

 

“Yes, enemy sniper is just--j-one moment…” Amelie trailed off. A sickening crunch was heard. “Don’t interfere.”

 

“Are you okay?” Mani asked.

 

“Oui. Enemy sniper eliminated,” Amelie replied.

 

“I am no--” the man in the background was cut off by the comm going offline.

 

“Well, looks like it’s just us two against their four,” Mani said.

 

“You can just stun them, we take her, we get out,” Sombra suggested.

 

“You know the range isn’t like that. It would go like: I stun one person, I get shot by another, you take out one and the target escapes,” Mani rebutted.

 

“Fine. I’ll go talk to the target. You distract them,” Sombra said. She stood up and moved toward the target.

 

Mani figured he would start with the support duo, because they would be easier to subdue. He too stood up and turned around, heading to the booth.

 

“Oh my god, are you Lúcio?” Mani gushed over-excitedly. His eyes flickered, revealing the blue light that had overpowered many.

 

“Heh, no, sorry, I get that a lot, but, uh, he’s a different guy,” Lúcio said, refusing to look up at Mani.

 

“Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to bother you,” Mani said, turning his eyes to Satya. She had made the mistake of glaring at Mani, and almost instantaneously her eyes glazed over. “Are you sure? You look a lot alike.”

 

“Yeah, I’m--” Lúcio looked up at Mani. Mani almost broke the spell, he was taken aback by how actually gorgeous Lúcio was up close. Nonetheless, Lúcio was gone in a second.

 

“I’m going to need you two to leave. Then you will no longer be under my control,” Mani said. 

 

The two begin shuffling out of the booth and towards the door. Mani’s eyes flickered back to their original light green and he checked over his shoulder at the table where McCree and Ana sat. They were no longer there. Mani looked at the target; Sombra was talking to her, ushering her, pointing to Mani. He looked back at Lúcio and Satya who exited the building, and then were immediately woken from the trance. He saw them turn and look back inside at Mani, who started walking to Sombra and the target.

 

“Do you need help?” Mani asked, eyes beginning to turn blue.

 

“No,” Sombra said, “Don’t waste your energy.”

 

“Okay,” Mani said, eyes returning to their normal state. The target looked confused.

 

“Widowmaker online. Enemy sniper eliminated. Where is the target?” Amelie said, her comm turning back on.

 

“We’re on our way right now,” Mani whispered, out of earshot of the target.

 

“Excuse me, mister, d’ya mind tellin’ me what this is about?” McCree asked, stepping into their path.

 

“Hey, Joel. Got off work early tonight? I see you’re with your mother,” Sombra said. Mani was confused, but decided not to ask questions.

 

“Yeah, n’ I see you’re harassing this poor lady. Ma’am, d’ya need help?” McCree said,ignoring Sombra’s taunts.

 

“Well, I don’t--”

 

Mani didn’t hear the rest of the sentence. Sombra dropped to the ground, a needle sticking out of her arm. A tranquilizer.

 

“Oh my god! Is she okay?” The target asked.

 

“That’s what we were trying to save you from, ma’am. Let’s go before someone else gets hurt,” McCree said. 

 

Mani couldn’t do anything but watch as McCree escorted the woman out of the building. He reached for his comm, but it wasn’t in his ear anymore. He looked around for it, but Ana stepped up to him.

 

“I don’t know what you did to our other agents, but I will find out, and I don’t think you should do it again,” Ana said. She stepped over Sombra’s sleeping form and followed McCree out the door.

 

Satya and Lúcio reentered the restaurant. Ana seemed to tell them it was time to go, but Lúcio disregarded her. He walked up to Mani.

 

“Listen, whatever the hell that was you did to us, don’t fucking do it again. That’s fucked up,” Lúcio said, “I don’t know if it was a drug, or something else, but I’m asking you not to do it again.”

 

Mani was silent for a moment. He didn’t know how he was supposed to respond. So he just lied: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

Lúcio gave him a dirty look and walked away. Mani tried to ignore it and hauled Sombra off the ground. She was starting to wake up, so he just helped her walk out the door.

 

“Mission failed?” Sombra asked drowsily.

 

“Yeah. Let’s get Amelie and get out of here,” Mani said. Amelie dropped down in front of them.

 

“Who was it?” Mani asked.

 

“Shimada. He’s better at combat, but I gassed him,” Amelie shrugged.

 

“Let’s get back to the hotel so we can tell Gabriel what happened,” Sombra said. Mani nodded and they got into the car.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sexual tension, sabotage, and sleepovers.

Nothing was happening. No one was doing anything illegal and all the business connections were secure. Also, some of the board members were concerned about being too high profile, so they had to lay low for a while. Mani was bored out of his mind. Not that he wanted to do anything bad, but he needed something to do.

 

The holographic chess board was reset for the third time. Sombra and Akande had been going against each other for over an hour. Mani was on the couch next to Sombra, stretched out with his feet on Sombra’s lap. He had refreshed Twitter six times and nothing new had come up. Instagram was even less updated.

 

“Are you sure we can’t go out and do something?” Mani whined.

 

“I’ve told you six times we’re too recognizable to go somewhere,” Akande replied, annoyed.

 

“You might be. Me and Som are always in disguise when we go out,” Mani pointed out.

 

“That may be true, but we’re trying to save the budget for actually important things,” Akande said. Mani huffed.

 

“Whatever. I’m going to go talk to Gabe,” Mani said. He swung his legs onto the floor and walked away.

 

Hallways in the Talon headquarters were boring. They were long, straight lines with charcoal walls, with only a light grey stripe going horizontally to lighten the area. Fluorescent strip lights at the bottom of the walls and overhead lit up the space. Numbers painted onto the walls in silver denoted the different sectors of the building.

 

Mani went down the hallway and into a room filled with monitors. Gabriel was sitting in an office chair at one end of the desk. He looked up when Mani opened the door.

 

“Mani, what’s up? Still trying to convince me to let you go somewhere?” Gabriel smirked.

 

“No, Akande kept telling me no. Speaking of which, are you ever going to talk to him?” Mani said.

 

“You know, there are other people’s businesses you could pry into that would not lead to you getting fired,” Gabriel shifted the subject.

 

“I already bugged Amelie and Moira, they’ve all got boring lives. Well, I’m still working on Moira, but you and Akande are in a much more viable situation,” Mani explained.

 

“Wait, what’s O’Deorain up to?” Gabriel asked, suddenly interested in the gossip.

 

“According to Sombra she’s been talking to Angela Ziegler again,” Mani spilled.

 

“Ohhh, that didn’t go so well last time,” Gabriel frowned.

 

“Well, it looks like they’re making amends, but who knows. Sombra won’t tell me what they say,” Mani said.

 

“Huh. I’ll ask her later,” Gabriel said. He scratched his bearded chin. “Anyway, I was looking over the footage from the hospital so we could delete the part where you were there, and it seems like you had a visitor. Remember the flowers?”

 

“Wha--oh yeah, I forgot about those. Does it show who brought them?” Mani asked.

 

“Well, it was the same person who brought you in, but, uhh, their face was not at all visible in the footage. Like they were wearing a visor, and they kept their head down,” Gabriel said, bringing up the footage.

 

As he had said, the person was wearing an army green hoodie and dark jeans and green-tinted sunglasses-style visor. They talked to the doctor, and then walked out. Gabriel sped up the footage until about an hour later, when the same person returned with a vase full of flowers and the note.

 

“So, do you remember what the note said,” Gabriel asked, “Because this person probably knows your identity. That means they are a threat.”

 

“Uh, I think it said something like ‘try not to get blown up a third time, even if we’re on different sides’ or something like that,” Mani tried to recall.

 

“Hmm. Well, I’ll run it through Sombra’s filters and see if we can get an ID. Other than that, try not to get killed,” Gabriel said.

 

“Thanks Gabe, you’re such a supportive friend,” Mani said. Gabriel shook his head fondly.

 

“Go tell Sombra to forward me the screenshots of Moira’s emails,” Gabriel said.

 

“Okay, _Dad_ ,” Mani said. He quickly left the room before Gabriel could balk at the title.

 

Mani followed the same bleak hallways back to the break room. Sombra and Akande had given up on their games of chess and were now discussing the benefits and downfalls of capitalism. Mani would have found it interesting if it wasn’t the third time that week. He watched as Amelie crushed the plastic cup she had been drinking water from and toss it into the recycling bin. He understood how she felt.

 

“Hey Som, Gabe says to forward him those emails,” Mani said with an urging look. Then he turned to Akande, straightened his posture, and said, “Also, Agent Reaper would like to speak with Agent Doomfist.”

 

“About what,” Akande asked, ignoring Mani’s dramatic formality.

 

“Uhhh, he didn’t say?” Mani tried.

 

“You know that meddling in people’s personal life is how they come to resent you, yes?” Akande raised an eyebrow.

 

Mani scoffed, “You already resent me. You need a new argument. I’m telling you if you two just talked--”

 

“It is not your place to decide to whom I speak,” Akande said, beginning to be irritated.

 

“He’s right. You need to communicate. That’s how a good team functions, right?” Sombra said. Smart move, Mani thought, using Akande’s own words against him.

 

“Yes, and frankly I am tired of always listening to you. Get a room,” Amelie said. Mani made a pointed face at Akande.

 

“Now is not the time to be having this discussion,” Akande said.

 

Before anyone else could speak, the door opened. Moira stepped in, holding a stack of files.

 

“Good news, everyone,” Moira spoke, “We have a new mission.”

 

~-~

 

Ilios sucked. Sure, it was pretty, and the people were nice enough. But whenever he was sent to fight there, it never went well. The last time, he nearly broke his wings after Pharah knocked him down the well three times. Now that Lúcio and Orisa had teamed up with Overwatch, Mani wasn’t sure he would get out of it in one piece.

 

The airship touched down at one end of the town. Mani clipped his wings into his back. Sombra checked her gun. Amelie put on her infrasight headset. Gabriel pushed his mask into place. Akande put on his gauntlet. Moira tested her healing and damage streams. The doors opened.

 

They all started running, trying to make it to the objective before Overwatch had a chance to ruin it. Mani flew up above the buildings, trying to get a view of who they were up against. As he suspected, Pharah, Lúcio, and Orisa were there.

 

Mani dropped down. He balanced on top of a building. The telltale music of Lúcio’s exoskeleton approached. Mani crouched; he would attack from above once the rest of his team grouped up. He waited as Gabriel and Akande shredded the tanks’ defenses.

 

Finally, the objective was activated, and Mani dropped down. Sombra was in the building next to the objective, hacking the health pack. Gabriel was keeping watch on the flanking routes. Akande was blocking off the main entry on the opposite side. Widow was watching over the objective from on top of a nearby building. Moira was standing on the objective to hold it.

 

The click of skates on concrete echoed behind Mani. He tried to take off, but he was tackled to the edge of the well. Lúcio was on top of Mani, straddling his hips and pinning him to the ground. Mani swallowed dryly, lips parted. Lúcio glanced down at them.

 

“I… uh, I guess this is fair. Are you going to throw me into the well?” Mani asked coolly.

 

“That depends. Are you gonna hypnotize me or whatever you did last time?” Lúcio replied.

 

Mani pondered the question dramatically. In reality, he wasn’t even thinking about it. He said, “Well, I wasn’t planning on it, but if you’re into that…”

 

Lúcio huffed. He pushed himself off the ground and extended a hand to Mani. Mani took it, confused, and pulled himself up.

 

“Truce?” Lúcio offered, “You don’t do whatever you did, and I won’t push you off cliffs.”

 

“Deal,” Mani said.

 

He shook Lúcio’s hand, breaking into a small grin. All around them, people were fighting, and here they were shaking hands like they had just made a business deal. Lúcio noticed his expression.

 

“What’s so funny?” Lúcio asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

Mani gestured around, “It’s just like, everyone’s fighting, but we don’t really have anything against each other, so we’re just chilling.”

 

“Heh, yeah. Well, I gotta go. See ya next time,” Lúcio said, skating away. Mani waved awkwardly.

 

“So, frog man, huh?” Sombra said in Mani’s ear.

 

“Shut up,” Mani said, face flushing. Sombra patted his shoulder and sprinted away.

 

~-~

 

“I have some news about the person who dropped you off at the hospital,” Gabriel said. He was standing in the doorway of Mani’s room. Mani looked up from his computer.

 

“Let me guess, Overwatch?” Mani said.

 

“Yep. Someone new, obviously, but you mentioned not getting blown up ‘a third time.’ I cross-referenced which agencies were at the bar in Germany with the ones that showed up at the thing in New York, and Overwatch was the only consistent factor,” Gabriel explained.

 

“I can get the list from Sombra of all the people who are new, and we can check it against the footage,” Mani offered. Gabriel nodded.

 

“Yeah, we should do that. It’ll be dangerous to go directly against an Overwatch member, but we need to make sure you stay a secret,” Gabriel said.

 

Mani considered that, remembering Lúcio’s confrontation, and the pact they made. And besides, Satya knew, and she was with Vishkar which meant she likely knew about the S1REN unit. It was a little too late for secrets.

 

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Mani said. He quickly left the room before his posture could betray his guilt.

 

The boring hallways led him to Sombra’s room. He knocked on the door so she had a chance to hide whatever government official’s compromising photos she was sorting through. Once he heard her unlock the door, he slid it open.

 

“Hey, Gabe needs the list of new Overwatch members, says he wants to check it against some security footage,” Mani said.

 

“How’s that going for you?” Sombra asked, pulling up the records.

 

“To be honest, I don’t know if I want to find whoever it was. Gabe keeps talking about them being a threat. And, I mean, I’m not switching sides anytime soon, but they pulled me out of an exploded building, so I’m not trying to get them killed, you know?” Mani said. Sombra nodded, still looking at the computer.

 

“So…” Sombra prompted. Mani shrugged. “I’ll give them an incomplete list. Buy them some time.”

 

“Sounds good. What are the odds of me getting away with saying you didn’t have the list at all?” Mani said.

 

“I think Gabe might have gotten access to the databases, so he’d figure you out,” Sombra said. She added exaggeratedly, “Good try though, isn’t this your first attempt at sabotage here? We should celebrate!”

 

“Okay, I get it,” Mani said. Sombra clicked ‘Send’ and turned to Mani.

 

“Speaking of celebrate, we haven’t had a sleepover in a while! There’s some gossip I wanna share, and you can tell me about your new boyfriend!” Sombra exclaimed.

 

“Wha--I don’t---” Mani sputtered.

 

“Nuh-uh, save it for the sleepover!” Sombra said, “I’m going to the store later, I’ll pick up some snacks.”

 

“I didn’t even agree yet!” Mani said.

 

“But you were going to,” Sombra said.

 

“Fine. But you have to get those chocolate-covered pretzels. We’ll be in the rec room, right?” Mani conceded. Sombra grinned.

 

“Yes! Also, see if you can talk Amelie into joining us. I wanna see if I can get her to tell me who she’s seeing,” Sombra said.

 

“I’m not making any promises,” Mani said, though he secretly also wondered. “See you later.”

 

“I’ll get tequila!” Sombra said. Mani shook his head.

 

~-~

 

“Makeovers!” Sombra exclaimed. Mani and Amelie groaned.

 

“Are we ten?” Mani asked.

 

“Don’t you want to experience all the fun you missed out on as a teenager?” Sombra asked.

 

“Okay, you’re first then,” Mani said.

 

“This will be fun,” Amelie smirked.

 

Amelie pulled out a basket of nail polish and Mani procured a box full of makeup. They set to work absolutely ruining Sombra’s aesthetic, Amelie painting her nails green and putting her hair into pigtails while Mani painted her eyelids orange. Somehow, red glitter also found its way onto Sombra’s face, though neither Mani nor Amelie confessed to the crime. Mani picked up a hand mirror and held it up to Sombra’s face.

 

“Dios mio, I should _not_ have suggested this,” Sombra said, giggling. She turned to Amelie. “Okay, your turn!”

 

Amelie backed away. “Non, I am good,” she said warily.

 

“Come on, Ams,” Mani grinned.

 

“No thank you. And do not call me ‘ _Ams_ ,’” Amelie frowned.

 

“Yeah, and don’t get too comfortable, I’m coming for you next,” Sombra said.

 

They spent the next hour destroying each other’s complexions and hair. By the end of it all, Amelie had red eyeliner, pink highlighter, green lipstick, and a french braid made backwards so that it came down over her face instead of her neck. Mani hadn’t fared much better, with blue highlighter smeared on his face (“because you wouldn’t stop moving,” Sombra had claimed) along with some yellow eyeliner (“where did you even get that,” Mani had asked) and his mohawk had been converted into a series of small twist buns.

 

“We look great,” Sombra commented. Amelie rolled her eyes, but didn’t start to remove any of the effects.

 

“Any other teenage activities you want to bring out while you’re at it?” Mani asked. He regretted it immediately as Sombra’s eyes lit up and she picked up her phone.

 

“Prank calls!” Sombra said.

 

“Right, so who are we calling that won’t get us killed or in trouble?” Mani pointed out. Sombra had already dialled and put it on speaker.

 

“I am going to go get more drinks,” Amelie announced, leaving Sombra and Mani alone in the room.

 

The dial tone echoed in the silent room, until it clicked and whoever it was picked up.

 

“Hello?” A sleepy, digitally enhanced and yet distinctly Japanese voice replied.

 

“Is your refrigerator running?” Sombra asked, barely refraining from giggling. Mani shot her a glare: who even said that anymore? In any context?

 

“You know that I don’t have a refrigerator,” Genji said, “Also, it’s four in the morning.”

 

“Is that Sombra?” A calm, robotic voice said in the background.

 

“Hi Zen,” Sombra said.

 

“The refrigerator has been set free into the wild, Sombra,” Zenyatta said, closer to the phone now.

 

“Alright, this didn’t go how I thought it would. I’m gonna go prank Gabe now, bye,” Sombra said.

 

“Tell me how that goes later,” Genji said. With a beep the call ended.

 

“We’re going to prank Gabe? You know I really thought you were done,” Mani said.

 

“Are you saying you don’t want to do it?” Sombra asked.

 

“Obviously I want to do it,” Mani said.

 

They brainstormed a list of pranks, and ended up taping a bunch of photos to the ceiling of his office and covering his motorcycle in sticky notes. Satisfied with their work, they returned to the rec room. Amelie was laying on the couch, looking at her phone.

 

“Do you think it’s time to call it a night yet?” Mani asked.

 

“No, we haven’t talked about crushes yet!” Sombra said.

 

“I have to draw the line somewhere, Sombra,” Amelie said.

 

“Please? Just tell me one thing about them,” Sombra pleaded.

 

“They are short. There. Now leave me alone, I am going to sleep,” Amelie said.

 

“Okay, your turn, Mani,” Sombra said.

 

“I don’t have a crush, you would know if I did,” Mani said. He wondered if he could lie to get Sombra to talk about her own crush.

 

“What about frog boy?” Sombra asked teasingly.

 

“We are not dating! We just made a truce, so we don’t have to fight,” Mani said.

 

“Okay, sure, like that’s a normal thing to do when faced with _our literal enemies_. I mean, I get it if it were with someone we weren’t directly fighting with but you understand that that truce has to be manually maintained, right, like you are going to have to actively not fight,” Sombra said.

 

“Yeah, I get it,” Mani said, “But what about you? Didn’t you meet Satya?”

 

“Oh, Dios mio, yes, she is so cool, I mean she’s gorgeous and smart and she’s really talented and I like her a lot,” Sombra gushed. It was obvious she had been waiting a while to tell Mani about it.

 

“What happened? Did you two talk at all?” Mani pushed.

 

“Yes! We met at that gala Sanjay brought me to, so we got to talk all night! And she was a little awkward, but it was cute!” Sombra replied excitedly.

 

“Did you get her number?” Mani asked.

 

“Yeah, I’m going to ask her out soon,” Sombra said.

 

“Good for you!” Mani said. “But seriously, can I go to sleep now?”

 

“You’re an old man,” Sombra conceded.

 

“I’m younger than you,” Mani retorted.

 

“Goodnight!” Sombra said.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes things don't go like they're supposed to.

“Have you heard Lúcio’s new album?” Sombra asked. She was video chatting with Mani, who was on an undercover mission.

 

“Of course I’ve heard it, why would I have not heard it?” Mani replied.

 

“Have you heard  _ Cravos Verdes _ ?” Sombra specified. She merged the music video holoscreen with the call window.

 

“Yes, why wouldn’t I have?” Mani said, confused. His eyes were drawn to the video in the corner, where Lúcio was lying in a field of flowers and dancing.

 

“Are you aware of what it means? Because it’s kind of important,” Sombra said.

 

“What does it mean,” Mani asked, deadpan. As if he didn’t already know.

 

“Long story short, he’s gay,” Sombra said.

 

“Have you even read his twitter? Of course he’s gay,” Mani replied. He pulled up the advanced search and typed a few words, then dragged the tab over to his call window. It showed various activism retweets, as well as interactions between other artists that could only be described as flirting.

 

“And you’re not stalking him?” Sombra implied.

 

“If following someone of twitter makes me a stalker then what does that make you?” Mani sipped his coffee.

 

“You can’t just talk and then sip something as if it means you made a point,” Sombra laughed.

 

“Or can I?” Another sip. Sombra shook her head.

 

“Whatever. I actually called because Gabe told Moira to tell me to tell you that someone is working with us for this mission, and she’ll be meeting with you tomorrow,” Sombra said.

 

“Do I get to know anything about her?” Mani asked.

 

“Jennifer Morales, age 36, ex-Blackwatch. Weapon specialties include knives and flamethrowers. Seeks revenge on the god AIs that controlled the omnics during the First Crisis. About five-seven, speaks all Romance languages, short black hair, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her not wearing camo green,” Sombra listed. Mani nodded.

 

“I think I met her once, remember that one Blackwatch sting you sent me to? I’m pretty sure she was there,” Mani said.

 

“She was there,” Sombra said, already reading the file. “She’ll be in Giza tomorrow.”

 

“And has Gabe actually disclosed when he’s going to show up? We can’t go in without him,” Mani said.

 

“He says to stay low, he’ll be there soon,” Sombra said, “But he and Akande are on some weird not-vacation in France, so it’s going to be a while.”

 

“What’s he doing in France?” Mani asked.

 

“I checked the travel report, but it’s super vague, I’m pretty sure he’s going to finally ask Akande to be his boyfriend or something, because they wouldn’t even let Amelie come with them,” Sombra said.

 

“They’re going to fuck on the train,” Mani clarified.

 

“They are definitely going to fuck on the train,” Sombra agreed.

 

“So. I’ll update you tomorrow?” Mani said.

 

“Sounds good,” Sombra said, “And try to get along with Morales.”

 

“I will. Bye,” Mani said, ending the call.

 

Mani wrote up his daily report and went to bed, waiting for the morning when Morales would be there to wait in boredom with him. He had a translation earpiece, but he wasn’t fluent enough to go out into the city. At least with Morales there, he would have someone to talk to.

 

The next morning, Mani was woken up by a knocking on the door. He scrambled out of bed, glad he was wearing somewhat reasonable clothing, and opened the door.

 

“Hello, I’m Jennifer Morales. Are you Mani?” the woman outside introduced herself.

 

“Hi, yes, that’s me,” Mani said awkwardly. He eyed the bags at Morales’s feet. “Will we be staying together? No one tells me anything, sorry.”

 

“I think Sombra got me another room. My keycard says next door. I just wanted to introduce myself,” Morales said.

 

“Cool. Well, uh, thanks for coming to work with me,” Mani said.

 

“No problem. I am glad we are getting a chance to interact with the Anubis AI,” Morales said, “I’ll see to you later?”

 

“Yeah, I mean, since we’re laying low and I already did most of the recon, there’s not a lot to do. It’s mostly touristy stuff, unless you’re fluent in Arabic. But there are some good places to eat, and we can go over what we know,” Mani said.

 

“Sounds good,” Morales said. She left without another word.

 

~-~

 

About a week later, Gabriel finally showed up. He seemed more relaxed than he had when Mani left, and Mani was fairly sure he knew why.

 

“Agent Reaper! It is nice to meet you,” Morales had said.

 

“Yeah, nice to meet you too, Agent Morales,” Gabriel said, “You guys ready to head in?”

 

Mani and Morales made affirmative sounds. Gabriel nodded, and they all stood up and grabbed their various bags full of weapons and armor. In the car, they equipped their gear and discussed the plan.

 

“Mani, I need you to get high ground to scout our route. Morales, you take out the guards along the left flank, and I’ll go to the right. We need to get in as fast as we can, because the alarms will go off. I’ll put the extractor in, you guys watch the exits,” Gabriel explained. He was in tactical mode, eyes focused on the road.

 

Everyone’s phones vibrated. Mani accepted the call and put it on speaker.

 

“Overwatch is there,” Sombra announced, “Just intercepted the mission details. Looks like… Pharah, obviously, Symmetra, D.va, Lúcio, Ana, and apparently Junkrat? They must be desperate.”

 

“Great. Anything else we need to know?” Gabriel asked.

 

“Just a suggestion: Don’t let Morales be seen. Distract them and send her in behind them to get the code sample,” Sombra said.

 

“Understood,” Morales said.

 

Sombra hung up. Mani turned off his phone.

 

“Is that what we’re going with?” Mani asked.

 

“It’s the best plan for now. Morales, stay in the car until I tell you it’s clear. Mani, you’re with me. Go over the top, meet me at the fountain past the bridge,” Gabriel said.

 

“Got it,” Mani said. 

 

Gabriel parked the car in front of a wall. Mani hopped out of the car and clipped his wings on, followed by Gabriel. Mani grabbed Gabriel’s arm and took off, flying over the wall and touching down next to a statue on the other side. Gabriel wraith-formed around the corner to the right flank route. Mani took off again, landing on the top of the entryway. He saw the team Sombra had described running towards the fountain. 

 

“Enemies grouping up by the fountain,” Mani reported.

 

“Understood. Morales, get over the wall and up to the entry but make sure they don’t see you. Mani, distract them,” Gabriel instructed.

 

“Acknowledged,” Morales replied.

 

“Got it,” Mani said.

 

Mani glided off the walkway and stood on the bridge. He spread his wings out and pulled his hard light pistol out of his pocket, shooting in between the Overwatch agents. Behind him, Gabriel successfully shadow stepped from one end of the bridge to the top of a building closer to the pyramid. Mani glanced over at Gabriel’s position.

 

Suddenly, Mani was tackled. He pushed his wings out in a panic, but they only furthered the fall. They clanked against the doorway of the building and folded inward, surrounding Mani and his assailant. They hit the ground hard.

 

“What the fuck,” Mani cried out. He looked up at the person that had so rudely knocked him down.

 

“Hey,” Lúcio said. 

 

“What was that?” Mani asked incredulously, “And why are you always tackling me?”

 

“What--oh,” Lúcio said, scrambling away from Mani. “Sorry.”

 

Mani looked up at him. “Is there a reason this time, or did you just want me under you? Because, I mean, you could have just asked--”

 

“No, I just have this thing about explosives, and Junkrat was shooting at you, and I wasn’t thinking,” Lúcio said.

 

“Same hat,” Mani said without thinking.

 

“What?” Lúcio frowned.

 

“Explosion-related trauma. I’m guessing the Calado building?” Mani explained.

 

“Yeah,” Lúcio said, “I meant what I said about not getting blown up a third time.”

 

Mani stared at him.

 

“What?” Lúcio asked.

 

“That was you? With the flowers, at the hospital?” Mani connected the dots.

 

“Oh, shit, yeah I probably shouldn’t have told you that. Whatever. Just, stop being near explosives, okay?” Lúcio said.

 

“Why do you care?” Mani said instinctively. “Fuck. Sorry. Nevermind.”

 

“Heh,” Lúcio huffed out, without humor. “Hey, while I’m here, any chance of you stopping the mission?”

 

“Nah, I don’t think Gabe would appreciate me calling something off unless I was dying,” Mani said.

 

“Gabe?” Lúcio questioned.

  
  


“Shit. Forget I said that. I am the only one here,” Mani said.

 

“Okay, sure. See you later, I guess,” Lúcio said.

 

“Bye,” Mani replied. Lúcio skated away. 

 

Mani watched him go for a moment, before he began checking the damage. His wings would need repair, but they would get him far enough to shield Morales.

 

“Mission failed. Retreat. Mani, where were you?” Gabriel gasped through the comms.

 

“Sorry. I got tackled and held hostage by a frog,” Mani explained. Gabriel just sighed. “Who’s injured?”

 

“I took a rocket to the stomach, and Morales’s arm is bleeding,” Gabriel listed.

 

“Where are you? I’ll come pick you up,” Mani said.

 

“We’re in a building past the fountain,” Gabriel coughed. 

 

Mani looked over at the buildings and saw dark nanobots floating out of one of the doorways. He waited until the enemies’ backs were turned and sprinted over, dropping a grenade as a distraction a few yards away. He saw Morales and Gabriel huddled in a corner. The smell of coppery blood and smoke filled the small room.

 

“Gabriel, what’s your recovery time looking like?” Mani asked immediately.

 

“Five minutes, maybe more,” Gabriel winced, trying to hold the nanobots in place so they could repair his body.

 

“I can bandage up my arm, and we can help him,” Morales offered.

 

“Okay, sounds good. I think I have a wrap somewhere…” Mani felt the pockets of his jacket and procured a roll of white bandaging. He helped Morales dress the wound before turning back to Gabriel.

 

“Do you need help walking?” Mani asked.

 

“I can go, I just need a distraction, because it’s going to take a minute,” Gabriel said.

 

“I’ll do it,” Morales offered.

 

“What? No, you’re already bleeding,” Mani said.

 

“I’ll be fine. I’m fast. Besides, we need your wings to get back over the wall,” Morales said.

 

“Okay, let’s go,” Mani said.

 

The three slipped out of the building and crept behind the enemy team. Once there was nowhere else to hide, Morales and Gabriel nodded to each other, and Morales took off running across the path. The enemies chased after her. Mani hoped she would be able to make it back around.

 

Gabriel led the (somewhat slow) trek back to the wall. Mani wished he was in a stable enough condition to just be lifted across the area. Unfortunately, there was still somewhat of a gap in Gabriel’s abdomen. They waited at the wall for a few minutes before they spotted Morales racing towards them. Mani braced for her to get there, and when she did, lifted her and Gabriel over the wall. It was a bit harder than he thought, but he managed it. 

 

Three car door slams and they were shooting away. All of their stuff was already in the car, so while Morales drove, Gabriel called for a craft to be sent at the nearest pickup location.

 

~-~

 

“Agent Hersteller,” Akande said from the doorway of the board room. Everyone else had left the meeting already.

 

“Yes?” Mani replied cautiously.

 

“About your latest mission in Giza. You wrote in your report that you were held hostage by Overwatch agent Lucio Correia dos Santos. However, upon reviewing the comm recording, the interaction between you and said Overwatch agent would not suggest a hostage situation. More of a friendly chat,” Akande explained.

 

“And listening to the comms and reading the report means you know how I got into the conversation, right?” Mani said.

 

“Yes. However, this is not the first time you have been spotted being friendly with the enemy. Moira has reported you quote: ‘making some sort of deal, and then turning away from each other rather than fighting.’ Would you mind explaining?” Akande said.

 

“Listen, you know I don't care very much about Talon’s goals. And the global outrage that would ensue if I were to take him down is something I'm sure you are way more interested in than I am. So we decided not to fight, because it didn't fit our personal agendas,” Mani said.

 

“And what if this agreement cost you your job; or even your life?” Akande asked seriously.

 

“You and I both know that I'm so much more valuable alive,” Mani said confidently.

 

“Regardless, entanglements, especially with the other side can become… complicated at best. Don't push your luck,” Akande said.

 

“Oh, I see. This isn't even about me,” Mani said, “This is about you and--”

 

“I would recommend finishing that sentence,” Akande warned.

 

Mani smirked, “Hiding from it only makes it--”

 

“The other board members and I have decided that you should work from home,” Akande interrupted. 

 

“You mean you’re putting me on paperwork?” Mani huffed.

 

“More or less. For now, you are assigned to the front desk. It’s also a security measure, in case someone who should not be here comes in through there,” Akande said.

 

“So I’m a desk cop?” Mani said, frowning. 

 

“Think of it as your gun and badge being suspended,” Akande replied.

 

“Except that my ‘gun’ is an integral part of my genetics. If I wanted, I could convince you to let me do whatever I want and you wouldn’t be able to stop me,” Mani said.

 

“Is that a threat?” Akande asked.

 

“It’s a reminder,” Mani said vaguely.

 

“I don’t think we need to be reminded. You start tomorrow,” Akande said. He walked out the door. 

 

Mani went after him. “You didn’t even say what my hours are!”

 

Akande didn’t turn around. 

 

“I think we should unionize,” Sombra said, materializing next to Mani, who jumped.

 

“I think you should not abuse your abilities to scare the shit out of your friends,” Mani grumbled.

 

“Whatever. Have fun at the front desk! I’ll come by to gossip,” Sombra said cheerily. Mani rolled his eyes.

 

~-~

 

Missions and risking your life a few times a month really did well to cover up the fact that  _ literally nothing interesting ever happens _ in Talon. Mani thought the dry spell between missions was bad, but knowing that there weren’t even missions to look forward to was worse. He just counted himself lucky he didn’t have to deal with any kind of money math.

 

Someone was nice enough to tell him what he was supposed to do, although they left before he could ask any questions. Basically, Mani was meant to monitor the security footage for the front of the building and make sure everyone who came in through that front door was supposed to be there. A simple task, too simple to occupy Mani’s mind or time.

 

Also, no one used the front door. Everyone came in through the hangar or the garage. So Mani sat at the desk, playing solitaire and slide puzzle (because why have newer games, it's only 2078) until something happened.

 

Eventually, Sombra stopped by. She asked, “How's it going?” 

 

“I'm pretty sure this classifies as psychological torture,” Mani remarked, leaning back in the chair.

 

“Yeah, I didn't think anyone used this door,” Sombra said.

 

“No, and no one even comes close to the building. These cameras may as well be stills because nothing has moved in the past hour,” Mani said.

 

“That sucks. Maybe it's payback for pranking Gabe?” Sombra guessed.

 

“That means you're next,” Mani said.

 

“Nah, I'm too good at hiding. You're kind of obvious,” Sombra joked.

 

“Whatever. What's going on upstairs?” Mani said.

 

“Moira's emails to Ziegler got exposed, and she's hiding in the pantry,” Sombra said.

 

“Oh my God, I'm sad I missed that. Was it Gabe or Akande?” Mani asked.

 

“It was everyone. They were posted on the bulletin board in the kitchen and Amelie posted a pic of it on snapchat, so everyone important knows,” Sombra replied.

 

“Is she in trouble?” Mani asked.

 

“I think you'll have a desk buddy soon,” Sombra said.

 

“Ugh, no, I don't want her near me for that much of the day,” Mani grimaced, “She'll start asking me weird questions about my genes again.”

 

“Yeah that was weird,” Sombra agreed.

 

“I’m guessing no one’s in any rush to put me back on missions again, huh?” Mani mused.

 

“I’m working on it, but you know how Akande and Maximilian are,” Sombra said, “Just enjoy it. Since Gabe and Akande got together they have  _ not _ been shy about it. The next time I see them making out in the kitchen I’m going to start collecting blackmail material.”

 

“It’s a little bit our fault for saying something,” Mani said, “But now they’re doing it to get back at us.”

 

“Yeah,” Sombra said. Her phone lit up. “I gotta go, I’m getting lunch with Satya.”

 

“Oooh, good luck!” Mani said.

 

“See you later,” Sombra said, walking away. Mani was alone again.

 

Mani checked the time. Only too many hours left. He caved and started checking social media. That didn’t last long, however, because Gabriel decided to swing by.

 

“How’re you holding up?” Gabriel asked.

 

“It’s boring,” Mani remarked.

 

“Huh, maybe you should think about that before you cover someone’s motorcycle in sticky notes,” Gabriel said facetiously.

 

“You think I could do that by myself?” Mani asked.

 

“Maybe, but you remember the hospital footage, right? Well, we checked the list and it turns out that one Lúcio Correia dos Santos is the one who brought you in,” Gabriel said.

 

“Don’t you want me alive?” Mani pointed out.

 

“Yeah, but the ties to Overwatch are something we can’t deal with right now,” Gabriel said.

 

“Since when did you start caring about Talon?” Mani said.

 

“Since I--” Gabriel cut himself off.

 

“Since you and Akande got together, got it,” Mani said.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re talking about?” Gabriel asked, his voice caught somewhere between wary and upset.

 

“Som told me how you two have been so obvious, don’t act like no one knows. And you know, when you like someone, you tend to care about their problems. Akande is invested in Talon, so you’re invested in Talon. You know, I should have seen this coming,” Mani said. He didn’t know why he kept talking, because he was only making things worse.

 

“I was going to try and help you,” Gabriel said, “but I don’t know if I can trust you anymore. ‘When you like someone, you tend to care about their problems’ and since you seem to care so much about Lúcio, how do I know you won’t choose him over us?”

 

“I’m sorry you’re confusing being in a relationship with not fighting someone, but some people have different motives than you,” Mani snapped. Gabriel just huffed and dissipated out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> disguises, dancing, drinking, and debauchery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk about yall but i hc the talon hq as being in italy bc of the masquerade comic

The days passed without event, not that Mani expected anything to happen. Sombra came by a few times a day. Other than that, time dragged on. Mani considered leaving more than he had before. What were they going to do to him if he deserted? He could conceivably escape, if he wanted. Mani spent his time fantasizing about escape plans and a life outside Talon that would probably never come to fruition.

 

After about a week, Mani wondered what he could get away with as far as stepping away from his job. He knew that ultimately, Talon wouldn’t hurt him. He decided that he would just take a walk to the market in the nearby town to test the waters.

 

One long driveway, swatch of trees, and sidewalk journey later, Mani found himself at the edge of the market. He began to blend in with the people milling around. It was easier with his “disguise” of a black jacket with a popped collar and jeans. There was an interesting blend of honest people selling their hardworked produce and crafts and people who came to profit off of tourists. Mani walked around, just looking at all the stalls. 

 

Someone in the corner of his eye caught his attention. They were wearing sunglasses and a loose dark grey tank top, and had a tattoo on their shoulder. Wait.

 

Mani inched closer to the person, unsure if they were who they thought they were. They were talking with an omnic who was selling fruits and jams. Mani pretended to look at some ceramic bowls the next table over.

 

“--recommend the cherry, but the peaches are especially juicy this season,” the omnic said.

 

“I’ll take both,” the person said. 

 

Mani’s suspicions were confirmed. He started to step slowly away from Lúcio.

 

“Hey,” Lúcio called out. Mani turned to see Lúcio looking him. No one else was even around for Mani to pretend to shift the attention onto.

 

“Hello,” Mani said cautiously.

 

“I realize I never actually learned your name,” Lúcio said.

 

“Mani,” Mani replied.

 

“Mani. Cool name. But, uh, what are you doing here?” Lúcio asked.

 

“I'm on vacation,” Mani lied. He might as well be, though.

 

“Really? I didn't realize you got those,” Lúcio commented.

 

“What about you? What brings you here?” Mani asked.

 

“I'm in between jobs right now,” Lúcio said vaguely.

 

“Do you, uh, wanna grab some lunch? I know a good cafe that isn't far from here,” Mani offered. He didn't understand why his stomach decided that his suggestion was actually to jump off a cliff.

 

“Yeah, sounds good,” Lúcio agreed. Mani breathed a sigh of unwarranted relief.

 

They walked a few blocks to the cafe Mani mentioned. Mani found the situation funny again. They worked for enemies, and here they were getting lunch together. Akande’s warnings flashed through his mind, but he dismissed them. They walked into the older building that had been remodeled inside. They got drinks and sat down at a table by the window.

 

“How long have you been on vacation?" Lúcio asked.

 

“A few days,” Mani answered, “It’s more of a suspension, to be honest.”

 

Lúcio snorted, “How’d that happen?”

 

“You,” Mani admitted.

 

“What? Me? How?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Higher ups didn’t want me hanging out with you,” Mani explained, “You’re a good influence on me.”

 

Lúcio laughed. Mani smiled, though he wasn’t sure why his stomach was turning at the sound.

 

“Yeah, I mean, I don’t officially work for my job, but all my friends are telling me I should stay away from you,” Lúcio agreed.

 

“I bet it’s hard, since I’m so attractive,” Mani joked. Lúcio snorted.

 

“Nah, I think I’m the more attractive one here,” Lúcio mock-bragged. 

 

Mani replied with a snort of his own, but he met Lúcio’s eyes. Tension hung in the air for a second, before being snapped when Lúcio looked away to take a sip of his drink.

 

“So, are you having fun here?” Mani asked.

 

“Yeah, it’s nice,” Lúcio said. Mani nodded. 

 

Lúcio continued, describing the things he had done over the past few days, including meeting with some friends and trying a weird new restaurant. Mani listened, surprised to find he genuinely cared about what Lúcio was saying.

 

“So yeah, it’s been cool. What about you?” Lúcio said.

 

“Oh, I just came into town today, so I haven’t been around much,” Mani said.

 

“Yeah? Well, me and some friends are going to meet up at a bar, wanna come?” Lúcio suggested.

 

Mani thought about it for a second. On one hand, Sombra would tease him endlessly, not to mention the amount of trouble he would get in. On the other hand, Lúcio was a really cool guy and Mani liked hanging out with him.

 

“Yeah, sounds good,” Mani said.

 

“Cool!” Lúcio nodded, “So, uh, should I text you?”

 

“Yeah, here, lemme put my number in your phone,” Mani said.

 

“Oh, yeah, here.” Lúcio pulled out his phone and handed it to Mani. Mani typed in his phone number and handed it back.

 

They talked more about their different jobs and lives. They didn’t mention any specific details that would put them in danger, a tactic Mani was sure they were both aware of. Lúcio was just as funny in real life as he was on twitter. Mani managed to crack a few jokes as well, grinning every time he got Lúcio to laugh.

 

They remembered to order food, and halfway through eating managed to get into a half-hearted argument about video games. They trailed off from that into a comparison of their music taste, and from there got into a debate about a movie that had come out recently. Mani was surprised at how easily the conversation flowed, and privately wished that they didn’t have to go back to their respective corners of the earth so soon. At least he had that night to look forward to.

 

“Hey, what time is it?” Lúcio asked.

 

Mani checked his phone. “It’s like, three.”

 

“Oh, shoot, I gotta go, I’m going to a football game in like, an hour,” Lúcio said.

 

“Sorry,” Mani said.

 

“No, you’re good. I was having so much fun I lost track of time,” Lúcio said, with a smile that melted Mani’s insides.

 

“Heh,” Mani stumbled, “Have fun, and I guess I’ll see you later?” 

 

“Yeah, totally, I’ll text you,” Lúcio said.

 

“Cool! See you,” Mani said. He watched as Lúcio walked out the door.

 

Mani sighed. He should probably go back to headquarters before someone noticed he was missing. He begrudgingly got up, carrying his drink, and with a goodbye to the barista, started heading back.

 

~-~

 

“Wait, so Lúcio just  _ happened _ to be in town, and you guys had a date at that cafe, and now you guys are going out for drinks?” Sombra asked incredulously, though she didn’t look up from her pink holoscreens.

 

“It was not a date, but yes, he invited me to get drinks at that one bar, Castigo. Some of his friends are going to be there, so it’s not weird,” Mani clarified.

 

“Okay,” Sombra said, sounded extremely unconvinced.

 

“But like, what do I wear? I haven’t been there, so I don’t know the vibe,” Mani whined.

 

“Pick something cute, I went there once and I think it’s just kind of soft queercore. Basically anything in your closet. You’re like an acid-washed goth,” Sombra said.

 

“Thanks, Som,” Mani said sarcastically. 

 

But he took her advice, picking out a graffiti styled off the shoulder top and black leggings with rainbows going down the sides. He put on his silver boots and put in a colorful nose ring. After changing, he stepped out of the bathroom and stood for Sombra to approve him.

 

Sombra glanced up at him. “You look like a twink,” Sombra shrugged.

 

“You’re so mean to me,” Mani tried to pout, but as he looked in the mirror, his reflection betrayed him. “Nevermind. You’re right. But it’s too late now, I gotta go.”

 

“Don’t be out too late, don’t drink unattended drinks, and don’t get murdered,” Sombra said.

 

“Yeah, I know. Thanks for covering for me,” Mani replied. He picked up his phone and keys and walked out to the garage, where his motorcycle sat waiting.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

Mani turned around. Amelie was standing next to her extremely expensive lavender ferrari, looking skeptically at Mani.

 

“Where are you going?” Mani retorted.

 

Amelie was unfazed. “Gabriel sent me to get groceries. I believe that is code for him and Akande are…you know. What are you doing out? It is nearly nine.”

 

“I’m going to…” Mani was trapped. Grocery shopping was going to be his excuse, but if Amelie was going then he couldn’t say that. Then he figured that Amelie most likely didn’t care anyway. “I’m going to see some friends.”

 

“What friends?” Amelie smirked.

 

“Some of the guys I was in a band with in college,” Mani lied. He hoped Amelie didn’t know the whole story.

 

“Don’t they all think you’re dead?” Amelie pointed out. Mani cursed under his breath.

 

“I’m going out with Lúcio and some of his friends. Go ahead and tell Akande, I’m already suspended,” Mani admitted.

 

“Just don’t let them get you in trouble,” Amelie said. Mani was almost touched at her warning.

 

“See you later,” Mani said. He put on his helmet and started up his motorcycle, driving out of the garage.

 

The ride to the bar was longer than the walk to the market, as the bar was further into town and more people were around. Mani still got there with a few minutes to spare, so he parked and walked over to the growing line by the door. When he got there, he saw Lúcio and some people he didn’t recognize.

 

“Hey,” Mani called out. Lúcio turned and lit up when he saw Mani.

 

“Hey! We just got here,” Lúcio replied. Mani walked over to them.

 

“Me too,” Mani said.

 

“Guys, this is Mani. Mani, this is Hana, Zarya, and Genji is over there somewhere,” Lúcio introduced. Hana waved, not looking up from the game on her phone. Zarya waved also, but she seemed wary.

 

“Who’s this?” A cyborg in a green dress came over.

 

“This is Mani. Mani, this is Genji,” Lúcio said.

 

“Hey,” Mani said.

 

“Yo,” Genji replied.

 

“You guys ready to go in?” Lúcio asked. The general agreement of the group was enough, so Lúcio walked up to the front of the line and showed the bouncer his ID. The bouncer nodded and let the whole group in.

 

The bar was already a little bit crowded, but Mani stuck to the group and found that they had no trouble navigating the room. The walls were brick, but in a cool, post-modern industrial way. The lighting was dim and uninteresting now, but Mani searched the place beforehand and found some more colorful photos.

 

“I’m paying, so you guys can get whatever you want,” Lúcio announced. Hana cheered. Genji was already ordering a round of shots for the group.

 

Mani ordered a simple rum and coke, standing back as the group talked loudly over the music. He joined in occasionally, when the conversation turned to something he understood. Also, Mani was slightly sure that Hana, Genji, and Lúcio switched to Japanese at some point, and were now swapping between languages, leaving Zarya and Mani out.

 

“What’s up?” Mani tried. Zarya glanced at him.

 

“I’m good, you?” Zarya replied.

 

“Good. How did you meet Lúcio?” Mani asked, trying to hold a conversation.

 

“Work,” Zarya said, “You?”

 

“Similar. He kinda saved me,” Mani said, “And he keeps doing it.”

 

“He is like that. He always wants to help everybody,” Zarya commented, “And if you hurt him I will hurt you.”

 

“What? No, I wouldn’t-- I’m sorry if it came off like-- I mean we don’t know each other enough for me to hurt him,” Mani stuttered. 

 

“Good,” was all Zarya said.

 

“Hey, guys, we’re gonna go over to the dance floor,” Lúcio said. He noticed the tension between Mani and Zarya. “Is she scaring you?”

 

“No, no, we’re good. But I’ll just stay over here,” Mani said.

 

“Come on, dance with us!” Hana exclaimed.

 

“I bet that you look good on the dance floor,” Lúcio said. His voice went directly to Mani’s gut.

 

“Okay, but you can’t be mad when I embarrass you,” Mani said.

 

“Please, you can’t be more embarrassing than Genji,” Hana said. She gestured to where Genji was taking all the attention on the dance floor, dancing with strangers.

 

“Is he having some sort of midlife crisis?” Mani asked. Hana burst into giggles. “I mean, he’s older than Sombra.”

 

“Wait, you know Sombra?” Hana asked.

 

“We’re… friends,” Mani said carefully.

 

“Hey, we should go, before Genji makes everyone leave,” Lúcio interrupted. He dragged Mani and Hana over to the dance floor.

 

Lúcio and Hana started moving to the beat immediately, leaving Mani to stand at the edge of the floor awkwardly.

 

“Come on, it’s fun,” Lúcio insisted. 

 

The song was upbeat, and everyone was dancing. Mani, figuring he would be lost in the crowd, stepped over to Lúcio and started dancing. Lúcio grinned, and Mani smiled back. For a beat, it was just them, the pounding of the bass, and the dim lights as they danced, looking into each other’s eyes.

 

“If you guys are going to make out, go somewhere else,” Hana interrupted. Mani looked away, stopping his movements.

 

“You can’t just say that every time I dance with a guy,” Lúcio said. He too had stopped dancing.

 

“I don’t! You guys seriously looked like you were going to start sucking face right there,” Hana defended. Mani looked down at the floor, trying to ignore the feeling in his chest and his rapidly heating face.

 

“Whatever. I like this song,” Lúcio said, changing the subject. 

 

He started dancing again, moving toward Genji, who was honestly starting to make a fool of himself. Hana and Mani followed him.

 

“Hey, Genji,” Lúcio greeted. Genji looked over at him.

 

“Are you guys judging my excellent dancing skills again?” Genji asked.

 

“Yes. Are you even aware of yourself?” Hana replied.

 

“You guys know I was the hottest guy in the club, right?” Genji said.

 

“Yeah, fifteen years ago,” Hana said.

 

“Touche,” Genji said, “You guys ready for another round of shots?”

 

“Yeah,” Lúcio and Mani agreed. 

 

They started heading back to Zarya, who, as if telepathically connected to the group, had another round of shots waiting at the table. They all did the shots and ordered another round of drinks. Mani was having a lot of fun.

 

The night went on, with more dancing, drinking, and general debauchery. At some point, they lost Zarya, and later found her covered in lipstick marks by the bathrooms. Hana laughed, but was then reminded by Genji of the time she had to be picked up from some random person’s apartment early in the morning in a less-than appropriate amount of clothes. Then, upon realizing Mani wasn’t aware of everyone’s drunken escapades, relayed multiple embarrassing stories about Lúcio. Mani replied in turn with equally embarrassing stories about himself and Sombra (under a code name).

 

By the time they figured it was time to leave, Mani was drunk, and was using the dregs of his self control to refrain from kissing Lúcio. He was sure it was just the atmosphere, and the alcohol, and the physical attraction. They walked out of the bar into the cool night air. Mani wondered how he would get home.

 

“Hey, do you have a way back to your hotel?” Lúcio asked, like he could read Mani’s mind.

 

“Shit, no, I took my motorcycle,” Mani said.

 

“You wanna crash with us?” Lúcio offered. 

 

“Uh, yeah, if it’s not a problem,” Mani nodded. He couldn’t look directly at Lúcio, for fear of kissing him, but he figured he would be able to deal with it if everyone else was there.

 

“Alright, you can room with me and Genj, we got a couch in our room,” Lúcio said.

 

They took a rideshare back to Lúcio’s hotel. Hana and Zarya split off into the room next to Lúcio’s. Mani followed Lúcio and Genji into their room. They started getting ready for bed, but Mani didn’t have anything but his phone, so he just crashed on the couch. He was out in less than a minute.

 

~-~

 

Light streamed through unfamiliar curtains. Mani blinked at the room he was in, head pounding. Where was he? A snore sounded from across the room. He looked over; Lúcio was tucked into the bed. The memories of the previous night came rushing back, along with a fresh wave of nausea.

 

Mani stood up and went over to the bathroom. He splashed water on his face, looking in the mirror. He sighed. It was going to be a long day. He walked back out into the room, picking up his phone and sitting on the couch. He had a few messages from Sombra.

 

Sombra: r u coming back??

Sombra: omg did u go back to his place

Sombra: u r so lucky im covering for u

Sombra: did u die?

 

Mani checked the time. 10:47. Shit. He should probably get back. He typed a quick reply to Sombra and wrote a note to Lúcio on the pad on the nightstand.

 

The walk back to the bar’s parking lot seemed a lot longer than it was with the pounding headache, but Mani managed to get to his motorcycle. He put his helmet on and drove back to the base. When he walked into the hallway that connected the garage to the living area, Sombra was there.

 

“Walk of shame! Walk of shame!” Sombra chanted.

 

“Relax, Som, nothing happened,” Mani said.

 

“You sound so disappointed! Did he reject you?” Sombra exclaimed.

 

“No, nothing happened! I’m serious. I don’t even like him,” Mani insisted.

 

“Whatever you say. Amelie is going to make fun of you,” Sombra said.

 

“I know,” Mani sighed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lotsa fuckery, and picking a side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some mentioned violence but no real gore, so be warned.

No one said anything for a few days. Mani figured that Sombra and Amelie had kindly not told anyone about his night out, but something told him that wasn’t the case. He had very clearly been out all night, something anyone with access to the security tapes could see. He waited for someone to say something. 

 

The time came after a shift at the front desk. Mani turned off the computer and was heading up to the kitchen when he was intercepted by Gabriel. Mani prepared for the worst.

 

“Hello, Mani,” Gabriel greeted.

 

“Hi?” Mani replied.

 

“Do you know why I’m here?” Gabriel asked.

 

“I’m in trouble,” Mani said.

 

“Not quite. Honestly, we need you on missions, so I’m taking you off desk duty. You’re back on missions,” Gabriel said.

 

“Wait, really?” Mani frowned. He thought that everyone would be mad at him for consorting with the enemy. Instead, they were promoting him? Mani was suspicious. “What’s the catch? Is there some big mission coming up?”

 

“Yeah, actually. Sombra picked up an Overwatch mission briefing earlier today, turns out Lúcio Correia dos Santos and Satya Vaswani are spearheading a sting on Vishkar. Of course, Sanjay advised that we help him prevent this. Now I know you have personal problems with Vishkar, but I think you should help us unless you want to be stuck at the door until you die,” Gabriel explained.

 

Mani sighed dramatically, “I guess. You want me on recon or attack?”

 

“You’re actually gonna be infiltrating their attack team,” Gabriel said, “Come on, we’re having a meeting upstairs.”

 

Mani didn’t have time to balk before Gabriel was walking to the elevator. Mani followed him up to a conference room. Sitting inside were Sombra, Amelie, Akande, and Sanjay. Gabriel took up the spot at the head of the table, and Mani sat down next to Sombra.

 

“We have an upcoming mission, in the interest of protecting our allies. Overwatch members Lúcio Correia dos Santos and Satya Vaswani are planning an attack on Vishkar headquarters. Sombra, I believe you have more information,” Gabriel announced.

 

“Yeah. You already know about Rio, so I don't need to explain. But Satya has turned against Vishkar now that she’s with Overwatch,” Sombra said. Mani noticed that she conveniently forgot to mention that it was her who planted the anti-establishment beliefs in Satya’s head. “They are planning an attack on the headquarters that will rob the corporation of key databases and potentially harm top executives, as well as lots of employees.”

 

“What’s our plan?” Sanjay asked.

 

“We will have four teams. Gabriel and Sanjay will be stationed inside the building, waiting for the signal. I will be with Sombra keeping watch on all the doors. Amelie will be on the roof, as usual, and Mani…” Akande paused, looking at Mani with a stern glare. “Mani will be infiltrating their team.”

 

“Wait, how can we be sure Mani is trustworthy? He has not proven himself as loyal to Talon’s initiative,” Sanjay protested.

 

“I’m sure he’ll find that his loyalty will determine his survival,” Akande said passive-aggressively.

 

Mani stiffened. He was so sure that Talon would want him alive. He was a powerful tool in their schemes, as well as an ace in the hole in times of crisis. Mani was (to their knowledge) the only person in the world who could do what he does. Though he supposed if he were to turn on them, he reasoned they would have no choice but to kill him before he could hypnotize them.

 

“When do we leave?” Mani asked loudly, breaking the silence.

 

They discussed the mission plan and Akande told everyone when they were leaving. The meeting ended and everyone went back to whatever they were doing before. Mani followed Sombra to the kitchen.

 

“Why did you tell them?” Mani asked.

 

“I had to, or they would get suspicious,” Sombra replied.

 

“You didn’t have to say that much. You’re the only one who can do what you do, and you’re helping the bad guys,” Mani said, “Even over your precious Satya.”

 

“I don’t have a choice. You know I put my own survival first. You are the only thing close to an exception to that, and only because we’ve always been on the same side,” Sombra said, “And if the attack goes through and I don’t say something, it comes down on me and I get hurt. They made an example of you, and you’re--you’re ultimately more valuable than I am. So it will only be worse for me.”

 

Mani was stunned. The heartrending realization that Sombra would be destroyed if she made a mistake washed over him. And he knew Sombra had a ‘survive then save’ mentality, but he was an exception to that? 

 

“I’m being selfish. I know you have a lot weighing on you. I let my unending rage against Vishkar overtake that,” Mani said.

 

“Stay selfish. It’s the only way to survive,” Sombra said. The words reminded him of their Los Muertos days, hiding in abandoned buildings and unevenly dividing food, when Sombra told him that selfishness was a virtue in the world they lived in.

 

“I guess I have to, now that Talon is going to kill me if we lose,” Mani said. Sombra nodded but didn’t meet Mani’s eyes. Mani asked, “Hey, wanna make dinner together?”

 

“Yeah,” Sombra said. Something told Mani she remembered too.

 

~-~

 

One large aircraft carried the team, their gear, and five vehicles. Three cars and two motorcycles for the team to use. Specifically, Mani's motorcycle would be key to the plan. He would ride it to where the Overwatch craft was landed, convince them he was on their side, and leak their plans to Talon.

 

They touched down in a field, four kilometers from the Vishkar base. From there, three cars took everyone but Mani to the headquarters. Over the comms, Sombra instructed Mani on where to go.

 

“They're about three kilometers north, near the broken solar panels,” Sombra said. 

 

Mani could barely hear her as he sped down the empty dirt road. He tried his best to follow her directions, and eventually did find the smaller aircraft sitting in a field next to a smattering of destroyed solar panels.

 

“Okay, I’m here, talk to you later,” Mani said. 

 

He turned off the comm and tucked it into the pocket of his jacket, parked his motorcycle, and walked up to the main door. People were sitting around a table inside. Mani knocked on the door, grinning when he saw them pick up their weapons. The door opened.

 

“Who are you and why are you here?” A man asked. He was carrying a bow threateningly. 

 

“I’m here to help you guys. I know you guys are going to attack Vishkar,” Mani said. He really did want to attack Vishkar, so he sounded sincere.

 

“Who are you?” the man repeated.

 

“Hey, is that Mani?” Lúcio asked. He walked up to the door. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

 

“Sombra intercepted your mission briefing, so I came as fast as I could,” Mani said.

 

“Wait, fuck, so Talon knows?” Lúcio replied.

 

“Yeah, you’re kind of screwed. But I’m in charge of leaking intelligence back to them so we can strategize with that,” Mani said. He neglected to mention that he would most likely be killed if Talon lost.

 

“You’re admitting to being a traitor?” the man with the bow asked.

 

“Don’t worry, Hanzo, we can trust him,” Lúcio said, “Come in, we’ll need your help if we’re gonna do this.”

 

Mani walked up the ramp into the craft. He saw Satya, Zenyatta, and Hana at the table. They all gave him skeptical glances.

 

“So what’s Talon’s plan?” Lúcio asked.

 

“There’s five people besides me, two inside the building, two watching the doors, and one sniper,” Mani started, “Doomfist and Sombra going to block your entry as best as they can and if you get in, Reaper and Sanjay are going to be waiting inside to block off the major databases. And I’m supposed to fight on their side.”

 

“Okay, we can work with that,” Lúcio said. 

 

He pulled up a holoscreen from the table. Upon further inspection, it was a blueprint of the Vishkar building. Satya walked over.

 

“We can start by sending Agent D.va in through the front door,” Satya said. She used her prosthetic hand to place Hana’s logo on the blueprints. Mani couldn’t tell how she felt about having to go against Sombra.

 

“Yeah, and Hanzo can take out Amelie,” Lúcio said. Satya nodded and placed Hanzo’s icon on the map.

 

“I will enter through the back, and make my way to the databases. You should go with Zenyatta through the service entry and distract Reaper and Sanjay,” Satya said. 

 

“I don’t think that’ll work, Sanjay has the same photon projector as you, if not better. And it’s line of sight based, so I can’t escape it. Plus, he’s probably putting up shield generators,” Lúcio argued.

 

“I will have a shield generator as well, so I can protect you for a while,” Satya countered, “My main concern is Zenyatta.”

 

“There is no need to be worried about me, I can defend myself,” Zenyatta chimed in.

 

“We’re worried about your mobility, not your defense,” Lúcio said, “We need to move fast if we wanna avoid getting blocked in by Talon. My speed boost might not be enough.”

 

“Would you prefer is I remained behind and kept watch?” Zenyatta said.

 

“No, we need your damage output. Just stay close to me, worst case scenario I’ll just carry you,” Lúcio said.

 

“Hopefully it will not come to that,” Zenyatta chuckled.

 

“Mani, where do they want you?” Lúcio asked, turning to the man in question.

 

“I’m supposed to stick with your team and then turn on you somewhere on the stairwell,” Mani said, “I’m not sure how they expected that to work.”

 

“What do you mean?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Nothing,” Mani quickly said, “What am I telling them?”

 

“Tell them about Hana and that me and Zen are going to confront Reaper and Sanjay,” Lúcio said.

 

“Yes, keep my part of the plan a secret,” Satya agreed.

 

“I have to tell them you’re doing something, you were reported as a leader of this mission,” Mani said.

 

“Shield generator then, they will expect it,” Satya said.

 

“Great, now pretend you don’t know what I’m doing while I call Sombra,” Mani said. He took the comm out his jacket pocket and stepped into a different room.

 

“This is Mani checking in, I listened in on their plan,” Mani said quietly into the comm.

 

“What’s going on?” Sombra said.

 

“D.va will be going through the front door, Satya is putting up a shield matrix, and Lúcio and Zenyatta will be going for Reaper and Sanjay,” Mani said.

 

“Are you sure? You have to tell the truth,” Sombra said. Mani heard a note of worry he had never really heard before.

 

“Som, I’m going to be fine. I promise. Just trust me. This is all the information I have,” Mani said. He hated lying, but like Sombra said, he had to be selfish. And it wasn’t like Sombra wouldn’t benefit from Overwatch winning, granted she could escape Talon first.

 

“Are you sure?” Sombra asked. Mani understood. She had to look out for herself. This was the closest they’d ever been to being on different teams.

 

“Yes, I’m sure. Are you sure you got it all?” Mani replied.

 

“Yeah. See you on the other side,” Sombra said.

 

“Good luck,” Mani said.

 

The comm went offline. Mani tossed it on the floor, and considered stomping on it. He was honestly kind of scared, and really not sure what he should do. If he didn’t sabotage Overwatch, he would get no doubt brutally murdered, and put Sombra in danger. But if he did, he was putting Lúcio and his friends in danger of the same fate and he didn’t like that either. Not to mention how much he hated Vishkar for what it did to his mom and therefore to him, and everything in between. There was a lot riding on him.

 

~-~

 

The next day, they rolled out, heading to the Vishkar headquarters. Mani took his motorcycle ahead of the rest of the team to reconvene with Talon. 

 

The whole ride was spent wondering whose side he would take when it came down to the battle. Mani felt his resolve crumbling, and he thought that maybe he didn’t have to pick a side, he could just run away. If he was fast enough, no one would catch up to him and he could disappear. The thoughts went through his head, but before he could make a decision, he reached the Vishkar headquarters. 

 

Mani sighed, parked his motorcycle, and headed up to a side door. Sombra pixelated into view.

 

“What are you doing here?” Sombra asked.

 

“I took my motorcycle, I told them I would meet them here,” Mani explained.

 

“Why didn’t you go with them? What if they change the plan on the way here?” Sombra asked.

 

“They won’t, the only one of them who doesn’t trust me is Hanzo, and he wasn’t in charge,” Mani said.

 

“Does Satya know I’m here?” Sombra asked.

 

Mani considered his answer for a moment. If he lied, then he would be taking Talon’s side. If he told the truth, Sombra would be upset but she would change the plan to accommodate for the information.

 

“She knows Talon is here,” Mani said vaguely, “So she probably assumed you’re here.”

 

It was a middle ground that would let Sombra form her own conclusion. Mani waited for her to reply with bated breath.

 

“Okay. I’ll stay away from the back entrance then,” Sombra said. Mani was surprised.

 

“What happened to being selfish?” Mani asked.

 

“I like her a lot. I don’t want her to get hurt,” Sombra admitted.

 

“That sucks,” Mani said. Sombra nodded. “Good luck, I have to go.”

 

“Don’t die,” Sombra said sincerely.

 

“You too,” Mani replied. Sombra started walking towards the front entrance.

 

He sighed and walked up to the moving car that was stopping at the service door. Lúcio hopped out of the car, to the dismay of Hanzo, who was driving. 

 

“What’s the plan?” Lúcio said.

 

“Same as before. Where’s Satya? I have to tell her something,” Mani said. Lúcio gestured to the car, looking vaguely disappointed.

 

“You called?” Satya said, stepping gracefully out of the car.

 

“Sombra is not going to fight you,” Mani said. Satya looked at him skeptically, before turning to look along the side of the building.

 

“I understand,” Satya said, “I will set up the shield matrix. Agent Hanzo, you’re first.”

 

Hanzo nodded and began scaling the wall. Then Satya and Lúcio turned to the rest of the group.

 

“D.va, you’re next,” Lúcio said, “Call if you get de-MEKA’d.”

 

“Got it,” Hana said. She called down her MEKA and got in, heading off towards the front entrance.

 

“Careful, they’re both there,” Mani called out to her. He wasn’t sure if she heard him, but he hoped she could handle them.

 

A shield generator materialized into existence in a crevice of the building. Satya stood with hard light between her hands, placing small laser turrets around the shield generator. She put a hand to her ear.

 

“Doomfist is down,” Lúcio explained. Mani realized he didn’t have a comm from Overwatch in his ear. “Zenyatta, are you ready?”

 

“Yes,” Zenyatta said. 

 

Lúcio turned on his Crossfade suit and turned up the volume, allowing him and Zenyatta to quickly enter the building.

 

“I gotta go, they’ll expect me to be with them,” Mani said. Satya nodded.

 

Mani grabbed his folded up wings from inside his jacket and clipped them in, taking off and entering through a window on the fifth level that had been left open for that purpose. He navigated the hallways until he reached Gabriel and Sanjay.

 

“They’re on their way,” Mani said.

 

“Yeah, Akande’s hurt,” Gabriel said, voice strained.

 

“Go, I’ll hold this area down,” Mani said. Gabriel looked unsure. “The warning was clear: I desert I die. He needs you more, there’s no one here anyway.”

 

“Thank you,” Gabriel said. He dissolved out of the room, leaving Mani and Sanjay alone.

 

“I don’t trust you,” Sanjay said.

 

“Probably a good call, but I value my life more than some vigilante recon mission,” Mani said. He hoped he sounded sure, because he wasn’t.

 

“If you were to leave, our photon projectors will melt your organs. Just a thought,” Sanjay replied.

 

“Seems unnecessary,” Mani replied bitterly.

 

They waited for another minute. Mani heard the telltale sounds of Lúcio’s skates on the tile. He braced himself for the inevitable confrontation. Sure enough, Lúcio stopped in the doorway, Zenyatta hovering behind him.

 

“Why are you here?” Sanjay asked.

 

“You know why I’m here,” Lúcio replied bitingly.

 

“The databases aren’t here,” Sanjay said, “Are you so reliant on your fanclub that you can’t even get a map?”

 

“You think this was our last stop? Aren’t you supposed to be a top scientist?” Lúcio said. 

 

Mani noticed his hand twitching on his sonic amplifier. He tried to catch Lúcio’s eyes, but the man was focused on Sanjay. Mani felt for his gun in his jacket.

 

Before he could process it, the room erupted into chaos. Surprisingly, Zenyatta shot first, sending a volley of orbs into the server host computer next to Sanjay’s head. Sanjay replied with a carefully timed ball of light. Lúcio pushed Sanjay back with a blast, destroying a few monitors in the process. Mani backed up against the wall, avoiding the fray.

 

“You won’t win this time,” Sanjay shouted. Then there was a bang as Lúcio shot the computer behind Sanjay.

 

“Any time I break one of your computers I win,” Lúcio argued. Sanjay tried to lock onto him. Lúcio jumped back.

 

“These aren’t the only copies,” Sanjay pointed out.

 

“I don’t care. Any chaos I cause you slows down your ‘order’ bullshit,” Lúcio said.

 

“Why do you fight against order? It’s the natural path of the universe!” Sanjay yelled as another orb flew past his head.

 

“Because your idea of order ruins people’s lives!” Lúcio shot back. Literally. Four shots from his amplifier struck Sanjay between the ribs.

 

“You won’t get out alive,” Sanjay threatened, clutching his chest and stumbling backwards.

 

“You’re not stopping me,” Lúcio said. He grabbed Mani and Zenyatta by the arms and pulled them out of the room.

 

“Satya has taken the information. She would like us to meet at the central lobby,” Zenyatta informed.

 

“You go, take the front stairs, they have turrets in the elevator. I’ll head them off this way,” Lúcio said.

 

“Are you sure? You won’t be safe,” Zenyatta hesitated.

 

“Yeah, if I wanted to be safe I wouldn’t have come here,” Lúcio said, “Come on, let’s go, Mani.”

 

Mani pushed off the wall, launching off the ground of the tall hallway. He and Lúcio held each other’s wrists and pulled each other along. When they reached the service stairwell, Mani glided them down to the floor. Then there were only a few back hallways between them and the door.

 

“You get out, I’ll misdirect them,” Mani said. Lúcio skidded to a stop.

 

“I’m supposed to be the heroic sacrifice here,” Lúcio replied.

 

“They trust me. Plus, I love being a martyr,” Mani said.

 

“Okay,” Lúcio said. He exited through the back door, leading out to the side of the building opposite of the car and Mani’s bike.

 

Mani glanced at him one last time. Then he took off sprinting through the opposite door. No security were around; in fact, Mani didn’t see anyone. He tried to find someone to redirect, but there was no one. A sinking feeling settled in his gut. Mani stopped. Something was wrong.

 

It would be faster to get to his motorcycle or the car and go around than it would be to run back. With this in mind, Mani sprinted the last few meters to the service doors and burst out, only to see Hanzo driving the car away. 

 

“Wait! Where’s Lúcio?” Mani called out.

 

“He told us to leave without him. We can’t go against that,” Hanzo replied. Mani stood there helplessly as they sped away.

 

Mani realized that while they couldn’t disobey direct orders, Mani could. He leapt over to his motorcycle and started it up. He drove as fast as he could around the building, but he had to slow down when he noticed a crowd of people in white uniforms. Mani cursed under his breath.

 

“For the last time, stand down and come with us or die,” Akande demanded. Mani noticed that his voice was strained, most likely from Hana’s attack.

 

“That’s the same thing,” Lúcio replied. Mani knew he was just buying time.

 

Some of the Vishkar employees turned towards Mani. There was no time to think things through. Mani made his decision.

 

The engine revved up as Mani crashed through the crowd. He slid to a halt next to Lúcio, who was in the ever-shrinking center of the people.

 

“Get on,” Mani said.

 

“What?!” Lúcio replied.

 

“Look, I’m making a really reckless decision, so get on the bike before these people attack us,” Mani exclaimed. He tossed Lúcio his helmet that he had neglected to put on and folded up his wings.

 

Lúcio sprinted over and jumped onto the motorcycle. Mani stepped on the acceleration. Lúcio put on the helmet and fastened his arms around Mani’s torso. They pushed through the other side of the crowd and out into the dirt fields, leaving both their teams behind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> travel is expensive but lucio is a rich bich

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there is a bit of violence in blood in this chapter sorry

“Where are we going?” Lúcio asked in Mani’s ear.

 

They had been driving for about an hour. They had passed through several towns, and were nearing a big city. Mani had made several sharp turns to throw anyone tailing them off. He didn’t really know where he was, but he was hoping to find an airport. There, he could let Lúcio off and go into hiding.

 

“Finding an airport,” Mani simplified.

 

“Do you even know where one is?” Lúcio asked.

 

“No,” Mani admitted, “I’m just hoping we’ll get there,” 

 

“We’ll stop in this city then,” Lúcio decided.

 

“We’ve only been driving for an hour. They’ve got faster vehicles, they’ll find us,” Mani argued.

 

“You took so many turns, even if they spread out it’ll be hard to find you in the crowd,” Lúcio reasoned.

 

“They’ll know we went to the nearest city,” Mani said.

 

“But they won’t know where we’re flying,” Lúcio reasoned.

 

“Is there an airport here?” Mani asked. Lúcio pointed to the plane flying away from them. “Okay.”

 

The bike slowed as they fell in line with the other traffic going into the city. Mani hated going so slow, especially after speeding well over the limit for so long. They entered the metropolis, trying to seem inconspicuous. It was hard, considering they were the only motorcycle in the area.

 

“Do you see any signs leading to the airport?” Mani asked.

 

“Yeah, over there,” Lúcio replied. Mani changed lanes.

 

They navigated the city until they found the airport. Mani stopped the motorcycle in the parking garage, turned it off, and slid off. Lúcio followed suit. Mani patted the motorcycle, then dropped the key off onto the seat. Then he unclipped his wings from his back and folded them into his jacket.

 

“Let’s go,” Mani said.

 

The elevator took them to the main hall of the airport, which was reasonably full for a weekday (not that Mani really kept track of what day of the week it was). Lúcio walked up to the ticket counter. Mani stood awkwardly behind him.

 

“How can I help you,” the omnic at the counter asked in a bored voice.

 

“What’s the farthest place we can get a ticket to?” Lúcio asked. 

 

“Let me look,” the omnic said. They typed something into the computer. “We have two seats available for a flight to New York, departing in three hours.”

 

“Great, we’ll take those,” Lúcio said quickly. He pulled out a card from some pocket in his exoskeleton and paid with it. The omnic printed out their tickets and handed them to Lúcio.

 

“Why do you have a card with you on a mission,” Mani asked as they walked quickly to the security check.

 

“In case something like this happens,” Lúcio explains. Mani couldn’t argue with that.

 

They reached the security screening area. Mani knew that if he didn’t do something there would be trouble.

 

“Wait here,” Mani said. 

 

Lúcio stopped, though he didn’t seem to understand what Mani was doing. Mani walked up to the security guard and flickered his eyes a luminescent blue. 

 

“Let me and that man through without trouble. We aren’t going to hurt anyone, but we need our weapons for protection,” Mani said. His eyes flashed back to normal.

 

The security guard nodded flatly and turned off the metal detector. Mani turned around and gestured for Lúcio to follow him. Lúcio did so hesitantly, but Mani was just glad Lúcio trusted him at all.

 

The same thing was done to the baggage check and other security checkpoints. Mani could practically feel the distrust and discomfort radiating from Lúcio. Once they made it to their gate, Mani wondered if Lúcio would ever talk to him again. The answer came when they sat down in some chairs at the gate. 

 

“Do you have to do that?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Would you rather go to jail? Or die?” Mani asked in turn.

 

“I know, it just makes me feel bad to think about,” Lúcio said.

 

“You think?” Mani huffed out a humorless laugh. “I have to live with it. It’s handy, if you can carry the emotional baggage.”

 

“How did you even get it-- the whatever it is?” Lúcio asked tentatively.

 

“Vishkar,” Mani said bitterly.

 

“Is that why you came to help us?” Lúcio realized.

 

“Yeah. Really, I’m avenging my mom. I mean, she’s still alive, but she’s the one who got experimented on. I’m just a descendant,” Mani said. He hated how genuinely upset his voice sounded. He wasn’t the victim in any of this.

 

“That sucks,” Lúcio said. He sounded just as genuine.

 

“It’s fine. I’ve learned to live with it,” Mani said, “Should we get some food, since we have a long flight ahead of us?”

 

Lúcio seemed to understand that Mani wanted to change the subject. He looked around at the restaurants.

 

“Wanna go there?” Lúcio asked, gesturing to a coffee shop. Mani nodded.

 

They went up to the counter, ordered drinks and food, and sat down at a table. The food was okay, as good as food you buy at an airport coffee shop could be. The silence that hovered was tense, but Mani didn’t know how to break it. Eventually, though, he did.

 

“Did you know?” Mani asked.

 

“Know what?” Lúcio replied.

 

“Did you know that I would come back for you?” Mani clarified. He took a sip of his drink so he wouldn’t have to look at Lúcio.

 

“I hoped so,” Lúcio admitted, “It would have sucked if you didn’t come.”

 

“That’s a lot of trust to put on someone who isn’t even on your side,” Mani commented.

 

“Yeah, I guess,” Lúcio said. He took a sip of his drink too, probably for the same reason as Mani.

 

“I mean I don’t blame you. I’d trust you with my life. To be fair, though, you’re a good guy,” Mani said.

 

“Sometimes it sucks, being the good guy,” Lúcio said, “People expect things from you.”

 

“I get that. Don’t worry, though, it’s not much better being bad. People want you to kill and stuff,” Mani said.

 

They ate quietly for a while, with the only sound being the bustle of the airport. When they finished, they moved back over to the uncomfortable chairs by their gate. The time passed slowly. They hadn't brought anything to do (or anything at all for that matter) and they were both too stressed to make conversation. Mani hadn't seen Lúcio in between extremes; he was always either super chill or super stressed. Seeing him in a state of worry was unnerving.

 

After another hour or two they were allowed to board the plane. Not many other people were on the plane, but Mani was still suspicious. He didn't want to let his guard down and get attacked by an undercover Talon grunt.

 

The plane took off. Mani spent the first hour and a half flipping through a magazine boredly. There was nothing interesting in the pages, but Mani had to focus his brain on something beside Talon’s search for him and the uncertain future he would have now that he was no longer picking a side.

 

Another few hours passed, and Mani felt like he was going to explode. The commercial planes flew a lot slower than Talon’s aircrafts. Mani was simultaneously bored out of his mind and anxious beyond belief. Lúcio was on his phone, because apparently he brought that on missions too. And he had a charger as part of his exoskeleton. Mani almost hated him.

 

At some point Mani must have fallen asleep, because while he rarely did that even in his own bed, the plane was landing. Lúcio nudged him, forcing him to wake up fully. Mani blinked and frowned.

 

“Was I really asleep?” Mani asked.

 

“Yeah, you were out before we made it to the edge of Europe. I don’t blame you, we’ve had a hard day,” Lúcio said.

 

“No, that’s weird. I rarely sleep, especially in moving vehicles,” Mani said.

 

“Huh. I don’t know,” Lúcio said.

 

They left the plane behind all the other passengers. Despite Mani’s oddly protruding jacket and Lúcio’s exoskeleton, no one questioned them. They left the airport as fast as they could.

 

“Where to now?” Lúcio asked.

 

“You know, I didn't think this far ahead. I mean, what time is it?” Mani asked.

 

“I mean, since we’re in a different time zone, it’s only been two and a half hours,” Lúcio said.

 

“So it’s only like, eight-thirty, right?” Mani asked. 

 

Lúcio checked his phone. “Yeah. We might have to walk a while if we want to get a hotel,” he said.

 

“Yeah, or we could be cool on the rooftops,” Mani suggested.

 

“You get blown up twice and you think you’re some kind of antihero,” Lúcio grinned.

 

“You’re the real hero, ‘cause there could have been a third time,” Mani deflected, “Did you ever get in trouble for that?”

 

“Uh, yeah, but I don’t really work there so the worst they could do was warn me,” Lúcio said.

 

“Ok, so do we have to take the sidewalk?” Mani asked.

 

“Yes, people will notice a large metal bird flying over the city,” Lúcio said, “And a frog riding walls.”

 

“You’re no fun,” Mani complained jokingly.

 

“You want to see fun?” Lúcio said, raising an eyebrow. There was suddenly an incredible amount of tension between them.

 

“Maybe later. There had to be someone on that plane, and they’re going to tail us,” Mani said, ruining the moment.

 

“Okay, yeah, let’s, uh, let’s find a hotel and we can get on a hypertrain or something in the morning,” Lúcio said, looking down at the ground.

 

“Sure,” Mani said.

 

They started walking down the street. All of the hotels across the street from the airport were full, so they went further. It was getting late, and cold. There was an older building that had been renovated into a hotel that they reached. They stopped in front of it, both wondering whether they should go in. Lúcio was the first to surrender his pride and walk up to the door.

 

“Hi, how can I help you?” The person at the front counter asked.

 

“Is it possible to get a room? I know it’s late, sorry,” Lúcio asked.

 

The person checked their computer. “We have a one-queen room available,” They said.

 

“That’s fine, we’ll take it,” Lúcio said, handing over his card. The person scanned it and handed it back, and held out a fingerprint scanner. Lúcio scanned his finger and the transaction was complete.

 

“Here are your room keys,” they said, handing over a small card envelope. “Breakfast opens at six, and the wifi password is in your room.”

 

“Thanks,” Lúcio said.

 

The elevator took them up to their floor, and they found their room. It smelled faintly of old coffee and e-cigarettes, but it was the best they could do. Mani had stayed at worse.

 

“Okay, so we’ll head out early tomorrow and catch a hypertrain to…” Mani paused, trying to figure out the best place for them to go.

 

“Figure it out later. We have time. They’ll have to find us if they want to attack us. Even then, I think we could get away,” Lúcio said.

 

“They have Sombra on their side,” Mani said, “So they’re tracking us right now.”

 

“Will she really sell you out?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Yeah,” Mani said.

 

“Kind of a shitty thing to do,” Lúcio said.

 

“No, it’s what she--what we tell each other. Be selfish. It’s how we survived this long,” Mani said, “Speaking of which, you don’t have to be a part of this, you know.”

 

“I think I owe you one, you saved my life,” Lúcio said.

 

“Yeah, and you saved mine. That’s how it works in our jobs. There’s no score, no debts, it’s just what we do,” Mani said.

 

“That doesn’t make sense. You say you’re selfish, but you came back for me,” Lúcio said, “Would you have come back for anyone?”

 

Mani was silent. To be honest, he hadn’t really been thinking when he rode in like a knight in LED armor to save Lúcio. But thinking back, he probably wouldn’t have done it for anyone else in Lúcio’s crew. He didn’t want to admit it, because that meant that there was something different about Lúcio. And Lúcio was so selfless, he wouldn’t want to stay with someone who wouldn’t save everyone.

 

“You can sleep first, I slept on the plane,” Mani changed the subject.

 

“We can just share the bed,” Lúcio pointed out.

 

“Okay, but just remember you said that when I steal all the blankets,” Mani said. He took of his jacket, tried to catch all the things that fell out of it, and set it all on the table under the TV.

 

Lúcio did the same with his exoskeleton. Mani watched as he unlocked and unhooked the different parts, even stripping some armor from his prosthetics. Mani tried not to stare. They both got into the bed. Mani stayed at the far edge, unsure of how to relax with someone else so close. But as exhaustion took over, Mani was able to close his eyes.

 

~-~

 

Morning sunlight streamed through the sheer curtains. Mani scrunched his eyes shut, throwing an arm over them in an attempt to block out the light. Something moved to his right. Mani moved his arm, looking over. He suddenly remembered where he was, why he was there, and who he had dragged along.

 

“What time is it?” Lúcio asked. His voice was deep and crackly from sleep.

 

Mani rolled over and looked at the digital holoclock on the nightstand. “5:42,” Mani read.

 

“We should probably get going, huh,” Lúcio said.

 

“Yeah,” Mani agreed.

 

Neither of them moved.

 

“Seriously, we have to go, we could get murdered any second,” Mani said, burrowing further into the covers.

 

“Yeah, and if we get ready fast enough we’ll have time to grab food at the breakfast thing in the lobby,” Lúcio said.

 

Mani groaned. Lúcio was starting to pull the covers off of them both. Mani gave a half-hearted attempt to hold onto them but gave up easily, sitting up and stretching. He slid out of the bed and went into the bathroom.

 

One eight-minute shower later, Mani was ready to go. He lamented not being able to change clothes, because his were somewhat dusty from riding across fields and dirt roads. But it would be fine until Mani found a more permanent hiding place. Mani put on his jacket and tucked his folded-up wings into the inside pocket.

 

Lúcio went into the bathroom after him, taking a little bit longer. He eventually walked out, towel wrapped around his waist and chest bare. Mani was having a hard time not staring and just being cool in general. He glanced at Lúcio out of the corner of his eyes and saw the telltale double incision scars. He didn’t say anything, but his own scars seemed to tingle.

 

“Can you hand me my shirt?” Lúcio asked. 

 

Mani looked over to the table where Lúcio’s shirt was. He picked it up and handed it to Lúcio without making eye contact. Lúcio seemed to notice, because when Mani looked back at him, he was smirking.

 

“Ready to go?” Mani asked. He didn’t acknowledge Lúcio’s expression.

 

“What should I do about my suit?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Get a bag for it, I think I saw a shop across the street from here,” Mani said.

 

“Okay,” Lúcio said. He folded up the exoskeleton up until it was about the size and shape of a speaker. Mani was impressed.

 

They checked out of the hotel, bought a tote bag for Lúcio’s exoskeleton, and started walking toward the nearest train station. Mani wasn’t entirely sure where they were going. He was just following Lúcio, who had a map on his phone. They walked a few blocks, and then a few more blocks, and then made a wrong turn and had to turn back. Mani wasn’t sure Lúcio knew what he was doing.

 

“Are you sure we’re going the right way this time?” Mani asked.

 

“Yeah, it should be… right here,” Lúcio said. Mani looked across the street. There was, to Lúcio’s credit, a train station. However, it appeared to be a cargo train.

 

“Great, we have to train hop,” Mani said sarcastically.

 

“We can just walk to a different one,” Lúcio said.

 

“Nope, too late, I don’t trust your maps anymore. Let’s go, the train is slowing down now,” Mani said, ignoring the question. He marched up to the building. 

 

Lúcio didn’t even move to follow him. “You know, we really could just go somewhere else. We don’t even know where that train is going.”

 

“Can’t you let me be dramatic just once?” Mani complained, turning around and walking back.

 

“Maybe when it doesn’t involve sleeping on the dusty floor of a hypertrain compartment,” Lúcio said, amused. 

 

They walked the rest of the painfully long way to the real person hypertrain station. They purchased tickets (“A waste of money, we could just get on the train,” Mani had said) to St. Louis, where they would decide where Mani wanted to go.

 

“You still don’t have to be here. You could call for your friends to come pick you up and leave me to clean up my own mess,” Mani said as they got onto the hypertrain.

 

“No, you’re only in this mess because of me,” Lúcio repeated, sitting down. “Consider it my service to the general population, because who knows how many people you would have had to go through to get where we are now.”

 

“Okay, whatever, it’s your money you’re wasting,” Mani said. He looked out the window. Why was Lúcio so adamant about helping him? Sure, he was nice, but he was going a little beyond help at this point.

 

“Do you want me to leave?” Lúcio asked.

 

“What? No, I don’t mind. I mean, it’s nice to have someone with me. Shit. I mean, I appreciate that you’re helping me,” Mani replied quickly.

 

“Okay, I mean, you just keep asking why I’m still here,” Lúcio said.

 

“I guess I’m just not used to people sticking around,” Mani said. Lúcio looked at him. “I didn’t mean for that to sound so sad. I just meant, like, I haven’t lived a life where people survive long enough to get close to each other. Shit, that’s worse. Just forget I said anything.”

 

Lúcio smiled, but he seemed genuinely concerned. Mani hated that he always kept talking and making things worse. They sat silently while the train started moving. Mani watched the buildings speed by until they gave way to fields and forests, and then eventually buildings again as the hypertrain pulled into a station in Philadelphia. People boarded and got off, but Mani and Lúcio stayed.

 

The hypertrain continued on for five more stops over the next six and a half hours, until they finally reached St. Louis. They got off and stepped out into the city.

 

“Do we want to stay here for the night or should we keep going?” Lúcio asked.

 

“I think we should keep going, we have to lose them,” Mani said.

 

“Are you sure?” Lúcio asked, “I mean, we’re probably fine, they won’t know which set of places we picked.”

 

“Sombra knows my travel patterns, and she’s probably tracking your card. It’s not like they can’t find us,” Mani said.

 

“So why does it matter where we go? If they know where we are they’ll get to us, no matter what. As long as we’re prepared for that, we can do whatever we want,” Lúcio said.

 

“I guess you’re right. Where do you want to go, then?” Mani asked.

 

“I wanna get some food. We haven’t eaten since, like, six,” Lúcio said.

 

“Yeah, we probably should,” Mani said, “I don’t know what times people normally eat at.”

 

Shit, he did it again. He should just stop talking.

 

“Well, we’re eating now,” Lúcio said.

 

“What kind of food?” Mani asked.

 

“Where ever looks good,” Lúcio said.

 

They wandered the streets for a bit, trying to decide on a restaurant. Mani noticed someone that seemed to appear behind them at random times, even at different locations. He debated pointing them out to Lúcio, but he figured he could deal with it himself if their tail decided to attack. It was Mani they wanted anyway.

 

“This place seems good, right?” Lúcio asked. Mani nodded, just wanting to get to a place where there would be a lot of witnesses should someone strike.

 

They entered the restaurant, and the hostess brought them to a table. As they read their menus, Mani saw the shady person that had been following them come in. After the waiter took their order, Mani excused himself to go to the bathroom.

 

The stalker was at a table near the back of the restaurant. Mani walked by them under the guise of going to the restroom. They had a holopad; Mani caught a glimpse of the screen and saw a text document with his and Lúcio’s names on it. He then walked into the bathroom and hid in a stall, hoping that the pursuant would follow him.

 

Sure enough, after a few minutes, Mani heard the door open. He opened the stall slowly, peering out into the bathroom. It was them. Mani stepped out.

 

“Agent Hersteller. Return or die,” they said, stepping closer.

 

“No thanks,” Mani said, also inching forward.

 

He jumped forward and grabbed the assailant’s head, slamming it into the counter. They fought back, grabbing Mani’s arm. Mani twisted out of their grip and broke their arm. He then kicked them in the stomach, slammed them against the wall, and pushed them into a stall. They didn’t move.

 

The counter had some blood on it, so Mani wiped it down with a wet paper towel. He also checked his appearance, fixing his hair. He left the bathroom. 

 

Lúcio was still waiting at the table. Mani walked up to the table and sat down.

 

“Hey, is that blood on your shoulder?” Lúcio asked.

 

“What?” Mani looked down. There was indeed blood on his shoulder. “Oh, yeah, my nose started bleeding.”

 

“Oh, okay,” Lúcio nodded. He didn’t sound entirely convinced.

 

“Actually, uh, I think we should probably go,” Mani said.

 

“Did you kill someone in the bathroom?” Lúcio asked. He didn’t sound surprised, just slightly exasperated. That was new to Mani.

 

“Okay, before you judge me, I’m pretty sure they’re not dead. But, uhh, we should probably go,” Mani said.

 

“Talon?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Yeah, who else?” Mani replied.

 

“Won’t leaving make us more suspicious?” Lúcio pointed out.

 

“You just want to eat,” Mani said. 

 

“Let’s just wait for someone to find the body, we’ll figure it out from there,” Lúcio decided.

 

“If you say so,” Mani said.

 

The waiter came back and they ordered. No sign of anyone discovering the body yet. They got their food fairly quickly. Still no reaction. Mani started to wonder what was going on. Someone had to notice the bloody and unconscious person stuffed into a bathroom stall. Yet no one seemed to say anything.

 

They ate their food faster than they normally would, partially because they had to leave and partially because they were so hungry. They paid the check and left in hopes of getting away before something happened.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me there was someone there?” Lúcio asked. They started walking towards the hotel Lúcio had found on his phone.

 

“I didn’t want you to worry,” Mani answered honestly.

 

“How long were they following us?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Since the train station,” Mani said.

 

“Why didn’t I notice them?” Lúcio wondered, more to himself than to Mani.

 

“I don’t blame you. I’ve been doing this for almost half my life, if you noticed before me I wouldn’t have made it here. And I’m a lot more paranoid than you,” Mani said.

 

“True,” Lúcio said.

 

They walked towards the hotel. It was slightly nicer than the last one, and Lúcio had gotten a room with two beds. Mani wasn’t super concerned about that, though, because it was surprisingly not awkward.

 

By the time they checked into the hotel, it was only mid-afternoon. They didn’t have anything to do, so they just relaxed in their room, with the TV on quietly. Mani felt strangely calm, as if he was just a normal guy on vacation. He and Lúcio talked aimlessly, making fun of the people on the home renovation show.

 

Mani started thinking about where he wanted to go next. Anywhere he went, Talon would find him. Especially if he took Lúcio with him. Mani knew that it would be safest for Lúcio to go back to Overwatch, but selfishly he wanted Lúcio to stay with him. Lúcio was a voice of reason, and a moral compass, and really nice to be around. He was funny and smart and talented, not to mention he only put up with a certain amount of Mani’s bullshit.

 

“You’re thinking too hard,” Lúcio said, as if on cue.

 

“I’m just trying to figure out where I want to go next,” Mani said.

 

“Do you want me to come with you?” Lúcio asked.

 

“It’s up to you. I know you have a life to get back to. People might think you’re dead,” Mani said.

 

“Actually, I’ve been texting Hana a lot, so we’re good there,” Lúcio said.

 

“Oh. Good. I don’t want you to be dead. I mean, there would be a huge mess if you were dead, I would be in a lot of trouble,” Mani said awkwardly.

 

“Why are you so afraid to care about people?” Lúcio asked suddenly.

 

“What?” Mani asked.

 

“Every time you say something that might mean you care about me, you backtrack. Why?” Lúcio clarified.

 

The cream bedspread was suddenly very interesting to Mani. He traced the lines with his finger while he considered his answer. Why didn’t he want Lúcio to know he cared about him? That was a long list, and Mani didn’t know where to start.

 

“I can’t explain it,” Mani said, “You know? It’s probably some combination of my history and the life I live still. The usual ‘caring about people gets them hurt’ and ‘I can’t afford to care about people’ and ‘I’m not good enough.’ But maybe it’s also personality traits like suspicion and emotional instability and cynical apathy.”

 

Lúcio nodded, looking down at his own bed. Mani glanced over at him. Now Lúcio was the one lost in thought. 

 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to overshare like that,” Mani said. He felt guilty for suddenly dumping his emotional baggage on Lúcio, even if he did ask.

 

“No, I get it. I mean, I know I can’t really understand it, but I know it must be a lot,” Lúcio said. Mani shrugged.

 

“Yeah, it’s nothing personal. You’re a great guy, and a good friend, I just don’t know how to deal with that,” Mani laughed bitterly.

 

“It’s cool,” Lúcio said.

 

Restive silence filled the room, an almost tangible heaviness. Emotional vulnerability was always one of Mani’s least favorite things, especially his own. He went back to thinking about where he wanted to go, to distract his mind. 

 

“I think I know where I’m going,” Mani said.

 

“Where?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Home,” Mani said.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> VEGAS BABEY WHOOOOOOO!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nightmares including violence in this chapter so just skip over the italics if you don't like that

“Okay, you can say that and sound dramatic but you know I have no idea what that means,” Lúcio said.

 

“It means I’m going to go back to Las Vegas,” Mani said.

 

“Oh, cool. I played a show there,” Lúcio said.

 

“I haven’t been back, in, what, seven years?” Mani realized, “It feels like it’s been longer than that.”

 

“Do you still want me to come with you?” Lúcio asked.

 

“If you want. I’m gonna start my life over, again. So if you want to be there for that, you can come,” Mani said.

 

“You’re gonna need help with that, aren’t you?” Lúcio asked.

 

Mani thought about it. Even with his powers, he would need help figuring things out.

 

“Normally Sombra would help,” Mani said, “And you’ve already done enough.”

 

“I’ll still go. Do you even know how to be an adult?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Uhh… no,” Mani admitted, “Okay, if you want to come.”

 

They went back to their quiet activities for a while. Mani heard Lúcio’s breathing even out after a while. He figured the jet lag was getting to him. Less than an hour later, Mani too succumbed to the enticing pull of sleep.

 

~-~

 

_ It was dark. The air was smoky. Mani stepped forward. Colorful glowing filled the shadows. Bones, painted onto scarred skin. They moved closer, forming a circle around Mani. Mani turned in a full circle, staring in childish fear at all the skulls. _

 

_ “Will you kill her?” One asked. They had sky blue paint forming circular motifs around their body. _

 

_ The group parted to reveal Sombra. Except it wasn’t the modern Sombra. It was seven years ago. Mani was only thirteen. Someone pushed a knife into his hands. _

 

_ “Do it. Prove your loyalty,” a man with sickly yellow paint jeered. _

 

_ “It’s her or you, kid. Pick a side,” a woman with pale pink paint said. _

 

_ The circle of people started closing in, with only a small gap for Mani to get to Sombra. _

 

_ “Stay selfish, Mani,” Sombra called out. She sounded like she was crying. Mani hated the sound. _

 

_ “Run! Let’s run!” Mani yelled. _

 

_ But it was too late. The gap in the circle closed. The sky blue person took the knife from Mani’s shaking hands. They plunged it into his chest. _

 

Mani gasped.

 

His eyes shot open. Mani wasn’t there, he wasn’t in a warehouse or an alley. The only other person was Lúcio, who was sitting on the bed next to him with the most concerned face Mani had ever seen on him. It was, however, still dark. Mani guessed it was the middle of the night.

 

“Are you okay?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Yeah, why?” Mani lied. He sat up against the headboard.

 

“You were, like rolling a lot, and you just gasped. I’m just checking on you,” Lúcio said.

 

“I’m okay,” Mani said.

 

“You wanna talk about it?” Lúcio asked.

 

“No,” Mani said, “Just a stress dream.”

 

“Okay,” Lúcio said. He didn’t move from the bed.

 

“Why do you care so much?” Mani asked. Lúcio looked down at the floor.

 

“I can’t help it. I don’t like seeing people hurt. I like helping people, and healing people,” Lúcio said. He looked up and stared at the reflection of the city lights on the generic painting on the wall.

 

“That’s so…  _ good _ of you. I’m not trying to be pessimistic, but someone like you is rare,” Mani said.

 

“I know. That just means I have to make multiple people worth of a difference,” Lúcio said.

 

“Do you rehearse these kinds of conversations or are you just perfect all the time?” Mani asked with a smile. His voice was softer than he meant it to be.

 

Lúcio looked back at him, eyes sparkling even in the dim light. His face held a million questions and a soft vulnerability. Mani couldn’t look at him for too long, because his chest was filled with all the answers and he wasn’t sure he understood them.

 

Mani reprocessed what he had just said. He had said Lúcio was perfect. It was true, but it wasn’t something people normally said about each other. He didn’t know if he should say something else or wait for Lúcio to say something.

 

“Thanks,” Lúcio said softly. Mani could hear him holding back a smile. 

 

Mani shifted, angling himself away from Lúcio. He was afraid that if he got too close he would do something he or Lúcio would regret.

 

“You sure you’re okay?” Lúcio asked. It helped ease the tension, in a way that still preserved the softness.

 

“Yeah. We should probably go back to sleep, it’s late,” Mani said.

 

“Okay,” Lúcio said.

 

Mani laid back down, pulling the covers over his head. He felt the Lúcio’s weight shift, but he didn’t leave the bed. Instead, he moved to the other side of the bed and slid under the covers. Mani was back to sleep before he could think through what that meant.

 

~-~

 

Light pushed at Mani’s eyelids. He reached blindly for the covers, to pull over his eyes. Instead he managed to grab an arm that was most definitely not his. Something shifted behind his back. Mani froze. He opened his eyes and looked around.

 

A deep sigh escaped from Lúcio, which is who Mani identified the arm as belonging to. Now was the question of why he was there. Mani tried to remember what had led to Lúcio sleeping in his bed as opposed to the other perfectly good bed in the room. He thought about Lúcio checking on him after the nightmare, and then they talked, and then Mani had gone back to sleep. Mani wasn’t sure at what point Lúcio had decided to sleep with him.

 

And then Mani wondered why he didn’t mind it as much as he should have. While he did trust Lúcio, he would never allow this from anyone else he trusted. To be fair, that only extended to Sombra and Amelie. He knew deep down exactly what was happening, but he didn’t want to admit it to himself.

 

“Hey,” Lúcio murmured in Mani’s ear.

 

“Hey?” Mani replied.

 

Lúcio seemed to fully wake up, because he jumped back. Mani ignored the cold that came in his absence.

 

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to, uh…” Lúcio apologized, “I must have fallen asleep last night.”

 

“It’s okay. You’re warm,” Mani said. Why did he say that? That was possibly the weirdest thing he could have said.

 

Lúcio just got out of the bed and started getting ready. Mani wasn’t sure if they were going to be awkward now. It wasn’t like they  _ slept together _ , they just fell asleep in the same bed.

 

They got ready in silence. Once all their stuff was gathered, they left the room and the hotel and headed back to the hypertrain station. They didn’t talk much as they got onto the hypertrain, or for the eleven hours they were on the hypertrain. It wasn’t awkward, but the friendliness wasn’t there so much.

 

They got off the hypertrain when it stopped in Vegas, around four in the afternoon Pacific time. As they exited the station, Mani was the first to speak.

 

“Should we eat?” Mani suggested.

 

“Yeah,” Lúcio agreed.

 

Mani led the search this time, finding a place he remembered going when he was younger. It was a small restaurant with few people in it. Waves of longing for a simpler time washed over Mani as he walked up to the host stand. But he wasn’t a kid anymore, standing next to his mother, feeling alone in the world. Now, despite the drastic increase in danger, Mani had friends, and purpose.

 

The host led them to their table and they sat down. Mani looked around and noticed that despite everything, some things don’t change.

 

“Did you grow up here?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Kind of. Me and my mom moved here after my dad died. I used to live in Dorado,” Mani said.

 

“Is your mom…” Lúcio trailed off.

 

“She’s still here, I have her address in my jacket somewhere,” Mani said, “I was thinking I would go visit her while I’m getting my life together. If she recognizes me.”

 

“Cool,” Lúcio said, “Does she… is she still like you?”

 

“She never uses it unless she has to. She only did it when we didn’t have any money,” Mani said. He wondered if that had changed since Mani left.

 

The waiter came over and they ordered. Their meal was less rushed this time, as no one had fought anyone in the restaurant. Mani didn’t talk much, but he asked Lúcio about his show there. Lúcio told Mani about his show, and all the things he did between performances. Mani liked listening to him.

 

They finished their food after a while and moved on to their next task: finding a place to sleep for the night. All of the nearby hotels were overpriced and full of tourists, so they walked farther down to the less expensive motels. Lúcio checked them in and they went up to their hotel room.

 

“Do you want to do anything tonight?” Mani asked.

 

“What do you mean?” Lúcio inquired.

 

“I don’t know, I mean, we’re in Vegas, people normally party or something when they come here,” Mani explained.

 

“Do you wanna do that?” Lúcio frowned.

 

“I don’t know. It would be… irresponsible, especially with Talon after me. But… I don’t know. I feel like this is the last night before my new life. I want to go out with a bang,” Mani sighed.

 

“Then we’ll make it a big deal,” Lúcio said.

 

“Really?” Mani asked.

 

“Yeah. It’s your last night as Mani-- wait, what’s your last name?” Lúcio said.

 

“Hersteller,” Mani said.

 

“Your last night as Mani Hersteller. We’ll have some fun with it,” Lúcio decided.

 

“Alright, let’s go,” Mani said.

 

Lúcio picked up his phone and started typing. Mani wasn’t sure what he was doing, but a minute later, Lúcio stood up and held out a hand to Mani.

 

“Let’s go,” Lúcio said excitedly. 

 

Mani took his hand and let Lúcio pull him down to the lobby and out to the street. A limousine was there. The door slid open. Lúcio gestured for Mani to go in, and Mani did with a grin.

 

“How did you get this together so fast?” Mani asked.

 

“I can type really fast,” Lúcio shrugged.

 

“Where are we going?” Mani asked.

 

“First the Eyecandy. Then we’ll see what happens from there,” Lúcio said.

 

“Do you just know every nightclub and bar offhand?” Mani asked.

 

“Basically, yeah,” Lúcio smirked. Mani rolled his eyes jokingly.

 

The limo ride wasn’t too long, and before long they were getting out in front of the Mandalay Bay. Mani wondered if people would swarm Lúcio, which had surprisingly not happened as much Mani thought it did. A few heads turned, but no one came over. Mani knew that there were a lot of limos that came through, no one was surprised.

 

They walked into the casino. It was only around six in the evening, so the nightlife hadn’t filled it up yet. Mani glanced around the room, taking in the glitter of the machines and chandeliers, as well as checking for potential threats. Lúcio led him through the casino to the bar and lounge area known as Eyecandy.

 

The bar was mostly empty when they got there, except for some locals who were relaxing with drinks in the corner. Mani followed Lúcio up to the bar counter. Before they reached it, Mani grabbed Lúcio’s arm.

 

“I don’t have an ID,” Mani said suddenly.

 

“It’s fine, I’ll give you my drinks and we’ll figure it out,” Lúcio said.

 

“Okay,” Mani said, unsure but willing to trust Lúcio.

 

Lúcio went up to order drinks and Mani walked over to one of the leather sofas lining the wall. He looked around at the other people in the lounge. There were the locals in the corner, as well as a few women who had just walked in. Behind them followed a man in a black cloak with a blue scarf and a hat pulled low over his eyes. Mani was on edge.

 

The man seemed to notice Mani keeping an eye on him, but he didn’t confront him. Lúcio came over with the drinks. Mani took whatever it was Lúcio handed him and nodded his head slightly in the direction of the mystery man. The man was ordering a drink, seemingly ignoring Mani and Lúcio.

 

“Tailing?” Lúcio asked.

 

“No, just suspicious,” Mani said.

 

“Don’t you know it’s rude to talk about people behind their back?” The man said, suddenly next to them. Mani recognized his voice.

 

“McCree?” Mani asked quietly, “What are you doing here?”

 

“My name is Joel Morricone, I don’ know any of this ‘McCree’ nonsense,” McCree replied.

 

“That doesn’t answer my question. Did Sombra send you?” Mani asked.

 

“Not quite. I’s kinda a roundabout monitoring process. Akande was talkin’ to Gabriel who was talkin’ to Sombra who was talkin’ to Genji who was talkin’ to me. I dunno why Sombra didn’ jus’ tell me, but it must o’ been a part o’ her big scheme,” McCree said.

 

“Do you know if she’s tracking us?” Mani asked.

 

“I dunno, probably. But I don’ think she’s reportin’ back to her bosses ‘bout it, else they woulda been here already,” McCree said.

 

“Are you, like, legit Joel Morricone?” Lúcio interrupted.

 

“Yeah, why?” McCree replied.

 

“I’ve heard about you. I’m there for recall and all your friends are there. They’ve told me some wild stories,” Lúcio said.

 

“Well, I’m a wild guy. Wild West, that is,” McCree chuckled. Mani rolled his eyes.

 

“How do you two know each other?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Som talks to him like once a week, and I’m usually in the room to make fun of them,” Mani explained.

 

“Anyone ever tell you to respect your elders?” McCree raised an eyebrow.

 

“I grew up with Sombra. The only elder I respect is classic alt rock,” Mani retorted.

 

“Fair enough,” McCree sighed.

 

“What are you going to say to them?” Mani asked.

 

“Just that y’all are apparently going to get wasted in Vegas for some unknown but probably dumb reason,” McCree said.

 

“I would tell you why, but you’d tell them,” Mani said.

 

“What, you two get engaged or somethin’?” McCree asked with a smirk.

 

“No, as cliche as that would be we did not actually elope to Vegas,” Mani shut down quickly. Lúcio seemed to have nothing to say to McCree’s accusation.

 

“If you say so,” McCree said, “I gotta go, there’s a poker table waitin’ for me.”

 

“Tell Sombra not to help me,” Mani called after him. McCree just chuckled as he walked away, carrying his whiskey.

 

The drink in Mani’s hand grew heavier. He looked over and realized Lúcio as pouring a shot of vodka into it.

 

“Bartender wouldn’t let me buy you an alcoholic drink without and ID, so I got a juice and soda screwdriver without the vodka for you and a shot for myself. We’ll just have to share,” Lúcio said.

 

“Cool,” Mani said. He took a sip of the drink. It was definitely a screwdriver. He handed it to Lúcio.

 

“Too much?” Lúcio asked, taking a sip.

 

“No, it’s good,” Mani assured him. 

 

The drink was passed between them for a while. More people were coming into the club, but it was still mostly locals. Lúcio got them another drink, a gin and tonic, and they finished that a little bit faster. The music started getting louder and more upbeat, and Mani kind of wanted to dance with Lúcio.

 

A song came on. Mani recognized it after a moment, and he couldn’t believe it. It was such an old song, Mani wondered why the DJ was playing it. It was, at least, a remix, and still a fun song, so Mani looked over at Lúcio.

 

“What?” Lúcio said, with a small smile.

 

“Let’s dance!” Mani exclaimed.

 

“Do you know this song or something?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Yeah, come on,” Mani said. He stood up and held out a hand to Lúcio.

 

Lúcio took his hand and Mani pulled him out onto the dance floor. Mani started dancing to the bass-boosted beat. Lúcio joined in after a moment.

 

“So one two three, take my hand and come with me, ‘cause you look so fine that I really wanna make you mine,” Mani sang. 

 

Lúcio, wasn’t singing, but he had a soft smile on his face that Mani wanted to keep there forever. Mani held his hands out. Lúcio took them, and Mani led him in a tipsy but fun dance. They stepped around the dance floor, avoiding the few other people dancing around them.

 

After the song ended, they separated, but stayed on the dance floor. The DJ played a couple more remixes of older songs to go along with the Jet remix. Mani kept looking at Lúcio to make sure he was having fun, and every time he did, Lúcio had that same soft smile. 

 

The songs changed and Mani was getting a little bit tired. He wasn’t surprised; he had gotten minimal rest after days of walking everywhere. He brushed Lúcio’s shoulder.

 

“What’s up?” Lúcio said.

 

“I’m going to go sit down,” Mani said.

 

“Okay, want another drink?” Lúcio asked

 

“You don’t have to waste any more money on me,” Mani said.

 

“It’s not wasted if you’re having fun. I like you, I want you to be happy,” Lúcio replied.

 

“Oh my god, the  _ iconic _ Lúcio Correia dos Santos likes  _ me _ , a humble gay just living my life as a genetic experiment?” Mani exaggerated, putting a hand to his chest and swaying backward..

 

“Shh! Someone’s gonna hear you!” Lúcio giggled, grabbing Mani before he could fall.

 

Mani was stuck in Lúcio’s arms, gazing at his face in the colorful lights of the dance floor. Time seemed to slow, and Mani glanced down at Lúcio’s lips. They moved slowly toward each other.

 

Someone bumped into them, ruining the moment. Lúcio let go of Mani and backed away slightly. Mani looked down at the lit-up floor.

 

“I’m just going to, uh, go--” Mani said.

 

“Yeah, I’ll get us another drink?” Lúcio said.

 

“Yeah,” Mani nodded, still looking at the floor. He walked back to the sofa and sat down.

 

Why did they keep having weird moments like that? Mani figured it must be the stress of running away mixed with the alcohol and the dim lighting. And while Mani could admit that Lúcio was hot, Mani didn’t like him, right? Right. They barely knew each other. 

 

Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. They knew the basis of each other’s traumas, and had rescued each other a lot, but Mani didn’t even know Lúcio’s favorite things; foods, music artists, books. And Lúcio didn’t know his. They didn’t even know each other’s favorite drinks, even though they had gone to bars together.

 

Lúcio returned. He was carrying some sort of purple concoction with two sugar glass shards stuck into it. He set it down on the table with a grin.

 

“What is this?” Mani asked.

 

“A Mani cocktail,” Lúcio said, as if it was obvious.

 

“What’s in it?” Mani asked.

 

“Coke, violet liqueur, blue curaçao, and two sugar glass triangles as wings,” Lúcio beamed. Mani couldn’t help but smile in return.

 

“One drink of this and I die instantly,” Mani joked.

 

“It’s good, I promise,” Lúcio said. 

 

He gestured for Mani to drink it. Mani picked up the glass and tasted it. It was a little bitter, but that was in character. He had to admit it was pretty good.

 

“You know me so well,” Mani smirked.

 

“You like it?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Yeah. Kind of bitter, but so am I, so it’s cool,” Mani said. Lúcio laughed. “How did you get them to make it?”

 

“Anyone will do something for the right price,” Lúcio said with a shrug.

 

Mani gasped. “World renown socialist Lúcio secretly a capitalist?” Mani said dramatically.

 

“You know, you’re dramatic when you’re drunk,” Lúcio commented.

 

“Oh really? You’re the one getting me drunk. What’s the alcohol percentage on this, even?” Mani pointed out, picking up the glass.

 

“Don’t worry about it. Can I try it?” Lúcio said.

 

“You didn’t even try it? I could have died!” Mani exclaimed.

 

Lúcio just took the glass from him and sipped it. He made a face.

 

“How did you drink this?” Lúcio asked incredulously.

 

“Ha! You were trying to kill me!” Mani pointed at Lúcio, leaning back on the couch.

 

“Seriously, this is so bitter, I’m eating one of these sugar things,” Lúcio said.

 

“No, my wings,” Mani cried. But he let Lúcio take one of the sugar glass pieces and eat it.

 

“Seriously, this is gross, how did you think this was good?” Lúcio asked.

 

“You must be a level 60 friend to unlock my tragic backstory,” Mani said.

 

“I’m literally the only one keeping you alive at this point,” Lúcio reminded him.

 

“I’ve been drinking shitty tequila since I was like fifteen,” Mani said, “This is delicious.”

 

Lúcio seemed to know not to push further, which Mani was grateful for. He had basically no filter, which meant there was a high chance of spilling all of his grim history at any moment. Mani took another sip of his drink. 

 

They spent a while longer in the bar, trying different drinks and dancing. Mani kept moving closer to Lúcio, like their bodies were magnets. Mani figured through his slightly hazy thoughts that it was just for protection. The closer they were, the easier they could protect each other. They were almost touching by the time they walked out of the bar.

 

From there, it was a blur.

 

_ A clothing store. _

 

_ A crowded street with a lit up canopy. _

 

_ A tattoo and piercing parlor _

 

_ A futuristic ferris wheel. _

 

_ Their hotel room. _


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yall ready for some ~emotions~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for violence in this chapter, more towards the end.
> 
> also there's a playlist for this chapter here: https://open.spotify.com/user/the_salt_overlord/playlist/0eMlxz3xDrWuGjxBR6SCz1?si=XJxQzfBPTiqRjytBjGmo7A

Throbbing pain. It was all Mani could feel, his own pulse hammering into his skull. It took over his senses and he couldn’t even open his eyes. Nonetheless, it was second nature to make sure he was somewhere safe, so he cracked his eyes open. 

 

The semi-familiar hotel room greeted him. Mani wanted to shut his eyes again immediately, because the sunlight coming in through the curtains was too bright. But something in his vision caught his attention.

 

Lúcio was in the bed with him, huddled up to Mani’s back. Also, they weren’t wearing shirts. Mani glanced around the room; clothes were strewn everywhere, more than either of them could have been wearing last night. Now that he was looking at them, he didn’t even recognize the garments. He hoped that no one else had been in their hotel room.

 

It was hard, but Mani slowly extracted himself from Lúcio’s embrace. He walked into the bathroom and saw his reflection. On his chest was a watercolor pattern of cyan and ultramarine flowers coming down from his right shoulder down onto his stomach. Mani had a sudden recollection of something that had happened the previous night.

 

_ “I’ll get one if you get one,” Lúcio had said. They were standing outside a tattoo parlor. _

 

_ “What would we even get?” Mani replied. _

 

_ “Let’s find out,” Lúcio challenged. _

 

Mani frowned. This would be hard to explain to Sombra. Not that he needed to, now that they would probably never see each other again. Wow, Mani was really out of his league here.

 

There was also the pressing question of why neither of them had a shirt on. Mani looked closer in the mirror and saw red marks on his neck. What the actual fuck happened last night? At least he had leggings on, though notably not the ones he had on when he left the hotel.

 

A groan sounded from the bed. Mani glanced over. Lúcio was lying on the bed with his arms over his face. Mani took the two glasses from the counter and filled them with water from the tap and brought them over.

 

“Here, drink this,” Mani said softly. Lúcio took the glass and sat up against the headboard.

 

“What happened last night?” Lúcio asked, voice crackling.

 

“You started it,” is all Mani said. He took a long drink of his own water

 

“You have a tattoo,” Lúcio said.

 

“Yeah, and I’m pretty sure you do too,” Mani said.

 

“I’ve had one though,” Lúcio said.

 

“No, not that one. The flowers,” Mani said. He could see them creeping over Lúcio’s shoulder from his back.

 

“What?” Lúcio frowned.

 

“I’m saying we must have gotten tattoos last night because I did not have this before and neither did you,” Mani said, trying to be quiet.

 

“Oh, shit,” Lúcio murmured, “What time is it?”

 

The holoclock on the nightstand said 11:44.

 

“Almost noon,” Mani said.

 

“Do we have anywhere we need to be?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Not really. We’re free, aside from the constant threat of Talon trying to murder us,” Mani said.

 

“Cool. I’m going back to sleep,” Lúcio said.

 

“Wait,” Mani said. Lúcio frowned at how loud he was. “Was anyone else in here? Did I… make out with anyone?”

 

“Uhhh…” Lúcio closed his eyes like he was trying to picture the memory. “No one else was here.”

 

“Then did we--” Mani cut himself off.

 

“I guess--” Lúcio did the same.

 

“Oh,” Mani said, “Sorry.”

 

“Well, uh, it’s better than a stranger?” Lúcio tried.

 

“Yeah, right, at least we can trust each other,” Mani nodded.

 

Awkward silence hung between them. Mani went back into the bathroom and took a shower, hoping it would help clear his head. The water stung a little bit on the sensitive skin where the tattoo was. Mani couldn’t say he didn’t like it, though. It was pretty, and it covered up part of the top surgery scars.

 

Once Mani got out of the shower, he wrapped himself in two towels and ventured out into the room for clothes.

 

“Hey, did we go shopping or something?” Mani asked. He hoped that they wouldn’t be awkward, especially since neither of them remembered what happened.

 

“Yeah, we got a bunch of clothes,” Lúcio said. He was on his phone, not looking at Mani.

 

“Okay,” Mani said. 

 

It wasn’t difficult to figure out who had bought what, because both their styles and size were different. Mani did find a neon yellow shirt in his size, and figured that they might have tried to buy clothes for each other while drunk. He finally picked out a blue shirt with grey birds on it and grey leggings. He went back into the bathroom to change.

 

When he came out, he walked over to the unused bed and sat down. He didn’t really know what to do, considering he had no phone to avoid Lúcio on. He picked up the remote to turn on the TV. He set it to a home renovation channel and tucked himself against the headboard. Lúcio didn’t acknowledge him.

 

A few hours passed with only the background noise of the TV. Mani had zoned out, and was just trying to figure out what he would do. He wanted to see his mom, and get a place to live where he could take care of her. It was the least he could do, showing up seven years after disappearing. He was fantasizing about the house he could get with his powers and the new life he would set up for himself. He could get a job as a background musician or touring drummer or something.

 

The TV suddenly turned off, snapping Mani out of his reverie. He turned to see Lúcio holding the remote,fresh out of the shower.

 

“Hey,” Mani said.

 

“Are you okay?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Yeah, do I look not okay?” Mani asked.

 

“Well, you’ve been sitting against the headboard not moving for a few hours, so that’s kinda concerning,” Lúcio said, looking away.

 

“I’m just thinking,” Mani explained.

 

“Are you thinking about what you want to do?” Lúcio asked.

 

“I’m going to go see my mom, which you don’t have to do with me if you don’t want to,” Mani said.

 

“Will you be okay?” Lúcio asked.

 

“No, but I’ve dealt with worse,” Mani sighed.

 

“I’ll come with you,” Lúcio offered.

 

“I don’t want it to be weird,” Mani said.

 

“It won’t be weird. I’ll wait a safe distance away, so it won’t be weird,” Lúcio promised.

 

“Okay, can we go now?” Mani asked.

 

“Yeah. Do you have her address?” Lúcio replied.

 

“Yeah,” Mani said. 

 

He went over to the table where his jacket was and dug around the inside pocket. He pulled out the small metal container. The container had a small latch, which Mani opened. There was a folded piece of paper inside. Mani took it out and unfolded it. They both scanned the address written on it.

 

“Sombra gave me this box so I could keep it in my jacket. You know, in case something like this ever happens,” Mani explained. Lúcio nodded.

 

“So are we gonna stay here another night or will you move on from here?” Lúcio asked.

 

“I… I’ll move on from here. Thank you, for all your help,” Mani said.

 

“It’s nothing. I’m glad I could help,” Lúcio smiled. Mani gave him a small smile in return.

 

They started packing up their stuff and Mani prepared himself for the inevitable confrontation he would be on the end of once he returned to his mother. Once all of their stuff was together, Lúcio opened the door to the room, and they walked out.

 

~-~

 

The walk to the apartment complex where Mani’s mom lived wasn’t too long. Mani almost wished it were longer, so he could have more time to think of what he would even say. His mom had been kind, but jaded. She would see exactly what Mani had become. Mani didn’t think she would be proud.

 

Just a few blocks and a staircase later, Mani was standing in front of the door that would change his life. He hesitantly raised his hand to knock on the door. With a final glance at Lúcio at the bottom of the stairs, he connected his fist to the worn metal.

 

Hesitant footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door. Mani held his breath. The door opened slowly.

 

“Who are you?” the woman asked.

 

“Hola mamá,” Mani said softly, eyes watering.

 

“Reina? Que pasó? (Reina? What happened)” Ms. Hersteller asked.

 

“Ya no soy Reina. Soy Mani. Usted lo sepa que (I’m not Reina anymore. I’m Mani. You know that),” Mani said.

 

“Dónde has estado? (Where have you been?)” Ms. Hersteller asked.

 

“En todos lados (Everywhere),” Mani sighed, “Lo siento, mamá, realmente soy. (I’m sorry, mom, I really am)”

 

“Oh, Mani, yo tambien lo siento, (I’m sorry too)” Ms. Hersteller said. She walked out and hugged Mani. “Quien es este? (Who is this?)”

 

Mani pulled away and followed his mother’s gaze. Lúcio stood sheepishly at the bottom of the stairs.

 

“Lúc, you can come up here,” Mani said. Lúcio quickly climbed the stairs.

 

“Mamá, this is Lúcio. He helped me get here, and we’ve saved each other’s lives a few times. Lúcio, this is my mom,” Mani introduced.

 

“Hi,” Lúcio said.

 

“Hello,” Ms. Hersteller said. She seemed skeptical.

 

“I came to talk to you,” Mani said.

 

“Well, come in. We can have champurrado, like…” Ms. Hersteller said. Mani knew she meant before everything.

 

They went back into the apartment. It wasn’t the one Mani had run away from. This one was smaller, but the walls were bright, and it had the homey feeling Mani hadn’t experienced since he left. Despite everything, he felt safe. He and Lúcio sat down at the counter.

 

“So what happened that you decided to come back to visit your poor mother?” Ms. Hersteller asked. Mani didn’t miss the passive aggressive note in her voice, but he deserved it.

 

“I have a habit of running away, huh,” Mani noticed, “Well, I ran away from my only protection because they were evil, so I’m going undercover. I wanted to talk to you in case I never… resurface.”

 

“Well, I am happy you thought of me. I do not know what you’ve been doing, and I am sure I do not want to know, but you came back to me, and that is what matters,” Ms. Hersteller said. She started heating the masa and water in a saucepan.

 

“I’m sorry for not coming back sooner. I didn’t want to put you in danger,” Mani said. Ms. Hersteller nodded as she whisked the mixture.

 

“It’s okay, I made my peace with it. I’m just glad you’re home,” Ms. Hersteller said. Then, with a teasing smile, she asked, “Why don’t you tell me about your boyfriend here?”

 

“What--we’re not--no somos novios!” Mani sputtered.

 

“Please, cariño, I can see those marks on your neck, and I can see your faces. You can’t lie to me, I’m your mother,” Ms. Hersteller said. She started whisking in the milk and chocolate.

 

“He’s not lying. We really aren’t together. Those marks are left over from when we were running away,” Lúcio explained, coming to the rescue.

 

“Yeah, uh, I mean, I haven’t even ever been in a relationship,” Mani admitted.

 

“Wait, really?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Yeah. Never really found the time, or the emotional stability, I guess,” Mani said, studying the pattern of the countertop.

 

“That’s too bad. Maybe if you settled down you could stay with me,” Ms. Hersteller teased.

 

“That would make things much easier,” Mani sighed.

 

“Would you like to stay here tonight? The couch pulls out,” Ms. Hersteller offered.

 

“Are you sure? I don’t want to make things harder for you. And me being here is putting you in danger,” Mani said.

 

“My child comes home after seven years and you think I won’t spend as much time with them as I can?” Ms. Hersteller asked.

 

“Of course, mamá, I get it,” Mani said.

 

“I guess that’s my cue, then,” Lúcio said. Mani looked over at him.

 

“Right, I mean, you have your life to get back to, I don’t want to hold you up any longer,” Mani said.

 

“Oh, you should stay!” Ms. Hersteller said.

 

“No, mamá, he probably has stuff to do--” Mani tried.

 

“Really? Something more important than staying with you?” Ms. Hersteller raised an eyebrow.

 

“Mamá…” Mani said, “You don’t have to stay. I know you have your friends and your career and your life to get back to.”

 

“No, it’s okay, I’ll stay. I know how to listen to parents,” Lúcio smiled.

 

“See? You could learn from him,” Ms. Hersteller said. Mani just smiled and looked down at the ground.

 

~-~

 

It was almost the middle of the night. Mani couldn’t sleep. They had eaten dinner together, and Lúcio got along really well with Mani’s mom. Mani was glad, because he didn’t want things to be weird. Mani rolled over. Lúcio was on the far edge of the sofa bed, sleeping soundly. Mani thought about all the times they had slept in the same bed. None of them had felt as intimate as this, where Mani could see the rise and fall of Lúcio’s chest as he slept.

 

A knock sounded on the door. Mani froze. No one should be there at that hour. He considered waking up his mom, but it was safer if it was just him. Whoever it was knocked again, more insistently. Mani walked over to the door.

 

The peephole showed no one. Mani was honestly freaked out. He may be surrounded by murderers daily, but this was weird. Against his better judgement, he opened the door.

 

Sombra materialized there. Mani jumped back, reaching for where his gun would be if it weren’t in the bag by the sofa.

 

“What are you doing here?” Mani whispered urgently.

 

“What are you doing here?” Sombra repeated.

 

“I’m saying goodbye to my mom. Are you here to kill me?” Mani replied.

 

“No. I’m here to tell you they’re coming. And that if you’re going undercover, you’ll need my help,” Sombra said.

 

“Shit. We need to get out of here. Where are they coming from?” Mani said.

 

“Northeast. We can head south to Mexicali, I know someone there who can get us supplies,” Sombra said.

 

“I’m not leaving my mom to die,” Mani argued.

 

“She has a safe room under her bedroom. My scans picked it up,” Sombra said.

 

“Okay, but what about Lúcio? He’s here, are we taking him with us or leaving him to fend for himself?” Mani asked.

 

“Fine, he can come with us, but as soon as we get to California he has to go. We can’t have such a high profile person with us,” Sombra said.

 

“Okay, let’s go. Do you have a car or are we doing this like we used to?” Mani asked.

 

“I have a car,” Sombra said. Mani nodded.

 

“I’ll be out in a second,” Mani said. He looked over at his shoulder at Lúcio, who hadn’t woken up.

 

The door slowly closed as Mani walked back over to the sofa. He nudged Lúcio’s shoulder. Lúcio opened his eyes slowly, looking up at Mani.

 

“We have to go, come on. I’ll grab our stuff,” Mani said.

 

Lúcio frowned, but threw the blanket off and started getting up. Mani picked up the bags, trying to make as little noise as possible. Lúcio followed him to the door.

 

“What’s going on?” Ms. Hersteller asked. Mani looked back at her.

 

“Bad people are on the way. Go into the safe room, and stay there for at least twelve hours,” Mani said.

 

“Talon?” Ms. Hersteller asked.

 

“How did you know?” Mani replied.

 

“I’m not ignorant, Mani. Now go, I’ll be fine,” Ms. Hersteller said.

 

“Bye, mamá,” Mani said. He and Lúcio pushed out the door.

 

Sombra was waiting outside. She led them down to the car that was still running in the parking lot. Mani slid into the passenger seat and Lúcio hopped into the back. Sombra stepped on the gas.

 

“We should reach California by sunrise,” Sombra said.

 

“Yeah,” Mani agreed. He knew Lúcio didn’t understand what that meant.

 

“Where are we going?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Mexicali, just south of the border. From there we can get supplies and go into hiding,” Sombra said.

 

“Oh, okay,” Lúcio said.

 

“We’re letting you out in California,” Mani blurted out. Sombra side-eyed him.

 

“Wait, what?” Lúcio exclaimed.

 

“You’re too high-profile and your disappearance would be too close to ours,” Sombra explained boredly.

 

The car made a sharp turn. Mani glanced at the digital compass on the dashboard. He did a double take.

 

“Som, we’re going directly toward them,” Mani warned.

 

Sombra didn’t say anything. She glared at the road, refusing to look at Mani. Mani’s stomach sank. He knew what was happening.

 

“I get it. Stay selfish. I won’t hold it against you,” Mani said.

 

“Can’t you just jump out of the car so it’s not my fault?” Sombra asked, a bitter laugh souring her words.

 

“My wings are in the back. It’s too late. Thanks for everything, Som,” Mani said sincerely.

 

The car pulled around, screeching to a halt. Talon vehicles surrounded them. Sombra got out of the car.

 

“They’re in here. Mission success,” Sombra said in a monotone voice. It was the voice Mani had only ever heard her use when she lost (which never happened).

 

“Do not exit the vehicle, do you copy?” Gabriel shouted. Mani sighed.

 

“We copy,” Mani yelled out. He looked back at Lúcio, who looked somewhere between surprised and angry. Mani wanted to apologize.

 

“We are sending a team who will subdue you. If you attempt to harm or hypnotize them you will die. Understood?” Gabriel announced.

 

“Got it,” Mani replied loudly.

 

Six people moved toward the car. Mani held his breath, waiting for the inevitable manhandling. The car doors were ripped open, and Mani was pulled out of the car and onto the ground by two people. His hands were fastened behind his back by magnetic cuffs. Mani watched as similar rough treatment was given to Lúcio. Then a heavy fabric was pushed over his eyes and he couldn’t see.

 

The grunts shoved Mani toward what he could only assume was one of the vehicles. He was lifted and placed into an enclosed space with a metal floor. Someone was shoved in next to him, presumably Lúcio. Mani was upset, but he was also glad they didn’t just kill him on sight. The doors slammed shut.

 

“I’m sorry,” Mani started, “This is my fault, if I had just not let you stay, you wouldn’t be in this shitshow.” 

 

“No, it’s not your fault. It’s Sombra’s. If she hadn’t betrayed you like that we would be fine,” Lúcio replied. He sounded angry.

 

“That’s not how it works. She doesn’t have a choice. It’s her or me, and we made a deal that we always pick ourselves first,” Mani said.

 

“Sounds like a shitty deal if you ask me,” Lúcio said, “Friends are supposed to protect each other.”

 

“We never had that luxury, okay?” Mani exclaimed, “Before I even met her I was stealing just to eat. Then we met and we only protected each other as far as it benefited us, because if we didn’t, we would die. We were just two kids who grew up too fast, and sometimes that meant making choices about which one of us would get hurt.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Lúcio said.

 

“It’s not your fault,” Mani said quietly. He hadn’t meant to erupt like that. “I know what she did was bad, but if I had been more careful and observant I would have known she was leading us to a trap. I was just… distracted.”

 

“By what?” Lúcio asked. Mani knew the answer, but he didn’t want to say it.

 

“I don’t know. Like I said, I’m sorry. I’m already working on a plan to get you out of this,” Mani said.

 

“What about you?” Lúcio asked.

 

“I mean this in the best possible way: stop worrying so goddamn much about me, and stop caring about me. It’s only going to get you hurt, because wherever I am there’s a lot of trouble. You can say ‘it’s worth it to make sure you’re safe’ or ‘but won’t you get hurt’ or whatever nice bullshit you’re going to say but it’s not going to change the fact that I can’t stand to see you get hurt because of me,” Mani declaimed.

 

“Can you stop being so selfish?” Lúcio cried out, “I’m with you because I wanted to be, and that’s my decision. I knew the risks. I can care about you as much as I want, because that’s what people do. They care about each other, and they protect each other, and they help each other. I know you live a fucked up life, and I can’t change that, but I want to change how you see caring about people. Yeah, it’s dangerous, and sometimes it hurts, but that’s just how it is! And that goes for yourself too. I’m asking you to think about how some people care about you.”

 

The small compartment was filled with a heavy silence. Mani turned his face toward the floor. He thought about Lúcio’s words. Lúcio was right, even if he was the only one left that cared about Mani. Not like Mani had much time to do anything about that, though. He had a one way ticket to mind reprogramming.

 

“There is no way I’m getting out of this with you,” Mani said softly, “Any way I think it through, I’m either dead or reprogrammed. You’re the only one who can get out. Just take the opportunity and run with it. That’s advice from someone with experience.”

 

“I’m gonna fight for you,” Lúcio said.

 

“You can’t take all of them. And I’m blindfolded, so I can’t help much. Just trust me, I’ll negotiate for your release and you can tell people to remember me,” Mani said, resigned. He didn’t really feel like dying.

 

“I’m not leaving you,” Lúcio promised.

 

“Don’t think of it as leaving me, think of it as saving the most amount of people as possible. How many people’s lives will you help once you get out of here? Enough to make up for mine,” Mani said.

 

“We’re both getting out of here,” Lúcio said.

 

“This isn’t a movie. I’m not even a protagonist. If anything, you are, and I’m another part of your character development. I’m glad I could help flesh out your character,” Mani laughed. There was no humour in it.

 

“I can help--” Lúcio started.

 

“You can repeat helpful sentences to yourself, but it’s not going to help. The most positive outcome is you getting out alive. Consider me your motivation to defeat Talon,” Mani said.

 

“You’re not helping,” Lúcio said.

 

“There is no ‘helping!’ I’m fucked! Just promise me that if you see me on the other side of the battlefield, you’ll kill me. I know it’s a lot to ask, but it will save a lot of lives, I promise,” Mani rushed.

 

Lúcio was silent. Mani knew he was being harsh. But Lúcio hadn’t been through what he had, didn’t know the horror of being asked which person to kill, of having to decide which person got to live another day. Mani understood, and he hoped Lúcio would never have to.

 

“Thank you for all the help, and all the times you didn’t kill me, and all the times you made me laugh, and all the times we danced together, and all the times you asked me if I was okay,” Mani said.

 

“You’re making this harder,” Lúcio said bitterly.

 

“You think? I’m just trying to say goodbye,” Mani said, “I wish we could have had more time together. And I’m sorry if we ever see each other again.”

 

The vehicle stopped. Mani heard the driver get out and stomp around to the back. The doors opened. He braced himself to be pushed around again. Lúcio was pulled out first, and Mani followed soon after. They were forced to walk along a gravel pathway. Mani couldn’t tell where they were.

 

There was another short walk, and then Mani heard less footsteps. They were being separated. Mani had expected it, but he didn’t want it to happen. A door closed, and Mani was moved into a chair. He tried to sit as rigidly as possible.

 

“Do not speak unless we ask you a question, is that understood?” Akande’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker in the room.

 

“Yes,” Mani replied boredly.

 

“Good. Let’s start simple. Was sabotaging and escaping Talon your plan from the beginning?” Akande asked.

 

“No. It was a last minute decision,” Mani said. He knew that being as helpful and explanatory as possible would give him more negotiation leeway.

 

“I see. Was it also a last minute decision to take Lúcio Correia dos Santos with you?” Akande asked.

 

“In the scheme of the plan I made up on the spot, no. I knew I was going to take him with me, because he has money and I knew you would be able to find me if I left behind a trail of hypnotized people,” Mani explained dishonestly.

 

“One last question. Why did you turn on Talon?” Akande asked.

 

“There are a few reasons,” Mani started, “The first being that I never had goals that aligned with yours. Also, you didn’t exactly treat me well. I was just another tool for you to exploit and hold over your enemies. Which brings me to my next point, which is that I was really trying not to make enemies. That’s why I left Los Muertos in the first place.”

 

“Alright. Have some time to rethink your life decisions while we decide your fate,” Akande said. Then everything was silent.

 

“So am I just going to sit here--”

 

Someone punched Mani in the face. Mani realized he should just shut up and wait for someone to come kill him.

 

~-~

 

Hours passed, although it could have just been Mani’s mind exaggerating the wait. The soldiers were still standing on either side of him. Mani wondered if Sombra had known his death would be delayed for so long. If she even thought he would die at all.

 

A door opened. Muffled voices came through over the speakers.

 

“...don’t understand why we can’t just kill him. He is obviously not going to be helpful,” Akande said.

 

“We have the last surviving mind controller in the world,” Gabriel retorted, “That’s not someone you can just throw away.”

 

“He’s outlived his usefulness,” Akande dismissed.

 

“He can be exploited. People like him have a weakness. Just because he doesn’t care about us doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about anyone,” Gabriel said.

 

Akande huffed, “He betrayed us--”

 

“He betrayed you,” Gabriel interrupted, “Honestly, I saw this coming, and I planned for it. I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. I mean, who would you choose? The people who treat you like shit and use you or the people who would pay for you to run away?”

 

“What do you mean you planned for it?” Akande argued.

 

“Putting him on a desk job was damage control. I convinced you to do it so he would be exposed to less information. I knew he had a grudge against Vishkar, and that mission would have been a failure anyway, so I sent him in as recon to give him an out that would save us the most trouble,” Gabriel explained.

 

“But what about all of the things he already knew?” Akande rebutted.

 

“Anything he already knew was available to all the people he would tell it to,” Gabriel said.

 

“And Correia dos Santos, why did he stay with Hersteller the whole time?” Akande asked.

 

“Did you not hear the kid? He was about to fight his way out of here for Hersteller,” Gabriel scoffed.

 

Mani’s stomach sank. Of course Lúcio was still being nice. After Mani had dragged him around the world and into a trap. Was there anything he wouldn’t forgive?

 

“He’s the leverage,” Akande realized. Mani’s gut boiled. Of course they would do that.

 

“And while we have him here, we can exploit his following,” Gabriel agreed.

 

“Then we should… oh.” Akande seemed to have noticed that the speaker was still on.

 

“Hey, Hersteller, we’re not gonna kill you yet,” Gabriel said. They may not be on the best of terms at the moment, but Mani admired his ability to remain nonchalant when things went wrong.

 

“Wha--stop being friendly. It’s not going to make him work with us,” Akande said.

 

“No, but it’s fun. You should try it sometime,” Gabriel said.

 

“Our offer is this. You stay and work with us, which may involve being brainwashed, and Lúcio gets to live,” Akande said, ignoring Gabriel.

 

It was a really shitty offer. Mani really didn’t want to go back to Talon. He also felt really bad about Lúcio being there. He knew what he would pick, and Sombra wouldn’t like it. It wasn’t selfish. But it was the one that made sure they were both alive.

 

“I’ll do it,” Mani said.

 

“Great. Oh, and we lied. There will definitely be brainwashing,” Gabriel said.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some truths are just the most acceptable lies.

There wasn’t much to remember between Gabriel’s dramatic exit and Mani somehow ending up on an operating table, but he still felt like he was missing something. He wouldn’t put it past Talon to drug him so he was more compliant. Not like there was anything he could do about his decision now. 

 

The metal cuffs around his wrists and ankles were tight, and the black tank top and shorts he was now wearing were uncomfortable. But Mani couldn’t fix it. He couldn’t do anything. In fact, he had ruined the rest of his life forever. Despite the circumstances, Mani felt a strange sense of calm. There was nothing he could do, and he had accepted that. At least Lúcio was going to make it out alive.

 

The laboratory was a room Mani had never before dared to venture in, so he tried to peek at all of the undoubtedly evil experiments taking place. He himself was an experiment, in a way. Moira had never before been able to work on someone with his mutation. He hoped that it didn’t work, but in his heart he knew it would. The operation was on the brain, not the genes.

 

“Your vitals are excellent, despite the terrible living habits you displayed before you left,” Moira noticed, “All the better for us, because it means that, with some tweaks to my formulas, you will retain your complexion. We will be able to use you in undercover operations.”

 

That was the last thing Mani heard before the anaesthetic took over.

 

~-~

 

Cold. The kind of chill that holds in the bones. It was haunting in a way no ghost could ever be.

 

It was the first thing Mani noticed when he opened his eyes. Next was the dark, bare room he was in. It was fitting, considering that he was now a cold, empty shell of who he was before. But it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Only success.

 

The screen on the wall flickered on. Mani turned his gaze to it, ready for instruction. A schedule typed in white over a black background. Mani was ready to follow it.

 

~-~

 

For the first week or so, Mani spent most of his time training. There was nothing else worth doing. Before, he had barely gone into the gym or the simulation rooms. Now he was there almost all the time. He had been strong before, but now he was starting to be physically intimidating. He was getting much handier with all the types of guns and explosives, too. All the better to make sure Talon’s goals were seen to completion.

 

Around the living quarters, there was a tension. Mani didn’t care to find out what was causing it. He was in the room next to Widowmaker, which meant he was the farthest from the inner council members’ rooms. A strange choice, considering that Mani and Amelie were the most likely to protect them should anything happen.

 

No one talked to Mani, except to give him instructions. People avoided him and walked around him in the hallways. It was convenient. Mani had better things to do than gossip with his coworkers. It wasn’t conducive to Talon’s goals.

 

After about a week of adjustment, Talon must have decided that there were apparently a lot of uses for a mindless special ops agent. Mani didn’t really remember his time outside of being enhanced, but he couldn’t have been sent out this much. Now that Talon was in charge, he could be trusted to take care of any and all threats.

 

The missions were practically non-stop for a few weeks. The routine was simple: dismantle security, get in, get target under Talon control, and get out. Mani was sitting in strategy briefings every day, and it was as if Talon was going to subdue every possible enemy in the world. They most likely were.

 

Any day that Mani wasn’t being shipped out to some corner of the world, he would switch between training and being tested in Moira’s lab. He heard something about “not making the same mistake as last time” but Mani knew it wasn’t his business.

 

Several weeks passed, and the mission rush died down. Mani knew they had run out of people to control at the moment. That was good, because it left only one opponent who would not have any aid. In this state, Overwatch would collapse in on itself and the so-called “heroes” could be picked off individually. All they had to do was wait.

 

One day, Mani was called in to the boardroom usually reserved only for the inner council. He had only been in there a few times, for important missions. However, those missions usually required the help of Widowmaker and/or Sombra, and no one was with him in the hallways. Regardless of this difference, Mani walked up to the door of the conference room.

 

“--if he is ready for the potential re-engagement with that team,” Doomfist said, and Mani heard it through the door. Though he knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop, he couldn’t help but stay to listen to what they were saying.

 

“He’s been through rigorous testing and renewals. Widow only went through a few rounds and she’s just barely starting to get everything back,” Reaper replied.

 

Mani knocked on the door before he could process what the men were talking about.

 

“You may enter,” Doomfist said. Mani pushed open the door.

 

“I understand you have another mission for me,” Mani said.

 

“Yes. You will be heading directly to the source of our opposition. We are sending you to Gibraltar, to get into the Overwatch base,” Doomfist said. Mani could tell frown the downward turn of his mouth and his tight grip on the manila folder that he would rather not have that happen.

 

“Everything you need to know is in the file,” Reaper said, smoothly taking the folder from Doomfist and sliding it across the table. Mani caught it. “Study up, craft leaves at dawn.”

 

“Will I be alone?” Mani asked.

 

“Yeah, we think you can handle it,” Reaper said.

 

“Do not stray from the mission. If something goes wrong, it will not end well for you,” Doomfist warned.

 

“Yes sirs,” Mani said. He turned and walked back out the door, shutting it behind him.

 

Despite his better judgement, he stood for another second, listening for the voices of the Talon leaders again.

 

“This is not going to work as planned,” Doomfist said.

 

“That’s the point. This is just a power play. It’s to show Overwatch that we hold all the cards. We’ll have a jet on standby to pick him up the second things go wrong. We’ve done worse,” Reaper said.

 

“I hope your uncharacteristic optimism plays out,” Doomfist said. Mani heard the two men start to walk toward the door, so he darted silently back toward his room.

 

Once the door was safely shut, Mani went over the scheming he had heard. They meant for things to go wrong. They were counting on it. He knew he was just a pawn, a playing piece in the ever-growing Talon empire. But never before had he been forced to lose. Mani tried to ignore the doubt in his head and opened up the file.

 

It seemed to be a simple thing on paper. Mani just had to shoot out the security cameras, and once someone came out to check, he would take them out or hypnotize them based off the list in the file. Rinse, repeat, until everyone was either dead or awaiting commands. The only hard part was actually pulling it off. And like Reaper appeared to be planning, he wasn’t actually to succeed.

 

Then came the dilemma of how hard Mani should try on the mission. If the Talon leaders wanted him to fail, then he should follow that. But according to the file he was supposed to actually try his best to in some way incapacitate all present members of Overwatch. Mani wasn’t even supposed to know about Reaper’s ulterior motives. So he would just do his best.

 

~-~

 

This was it. Mani had trained and fought extensively to secure Talon’s status as the clandestine control center for the top executives and governments of the world. Now there was only one thing standing in the way of that, and Mani was going to crush it into dust.

 

The jet delivered him to a forest a kilometer and a half east of the destination. Mani didn’t even flinch as he stepped out of the moving craft, wings spreading and catching the draft expelled by the engines. He made note of the forest as he sped toward the enemy base, because the jet would wait there until he needed help.

 

When Mani got within twenty meters of the base, he shot out two security cameras before they could focus on him. Another ten meters, another three cameras destroyed. Touching down right in front of the main door, Mani shot the last camera without even looking. This was the easy part.

 

A few minutes passed before Mani heard footsteps. They were getting slow. Mani readied his gun and put a hand on his belt where a high tech grenade waited. Someone’s shadow appeared around the corner of a rock. Mani braced himself.

 

Lúcio Correia dos Santos stepped out from behind the rock. Something in Mani’s chest stirred and Mani hesitated. A thousand emotions cycled through Lúcio’s face and Mani wondered which one it would land on. For a second, neither of them moved.

 

Then Lúcio’s fist connected with Mani’s temple and he crashed to the ground. Mani couldn’t do anything but push the distress button on his communicator and hope that help would come.

 

~-~

 

Floating through a colorful abyss. Mani felt himself being pulled towards an image, tucked into a forbidden corner of his mind. He let himself slide into place within the construction of his body that could have been him a few months ago. 

 

The vision took place in some nameless restaurant, and Mani was sitting at a table for two. In the seat across from him was Lúcio. Mani wondered why the man was in his dream; Mani didn’t even know him.

 

“I know I keep saying it, but it was really cool that you came back for me,” Lúcio said. 

 

Mani frowned. He hadn’t come back to anything for anyone. Nonetheless, he felt his mouth moving.

 

“It’s nothing,” Dream-Mani said, “I know you would have done the same for me.”

 

“Maybe not as cool as you did. You just rammed through the crowd on a motorcycle, that’s pretty badass,” Lúcio said.

 

“You could wall-ride over a crowd,” Dream-Mani suggested, “Not that I want that to be necessary.”

 

Lúcio laughed. 

 

Something stirred in real-Mani’s chest. Before he could listen to his dream self’s response, the vision filled with sickly purple smoke and dissolved into darkness. Mani was floating in a void with only darkness for company.

 

~-~

 

“--even with the breach he should be restored to full complacency. However, I would not suggest contact with the team again until I can run a few psych tests and adjust accordingly,” Moira said.

 

Mani’s eyes focused on his surroundings. Moira was just closing a holoscreen, so Mani couldn’t see who she was talking to. He didn’t need to know.

 

“Did I fail the mission?” Mani asked. His voice was croaky with disuse.

 

“Yes,” Moira replied disinterestedly. She was sliding bars on a holoscreen, no doubt adjusting the serums filling Mani’s veins through the various tubes in his body.

 

“It will not happen again,” Mani promised.

 

“I’m not so sure,” Moira said. She turned to look at Mani, studying him. Mani didn’t move. “You are on a week of suspension.”

 

“I understand,” Mani said. 

 

He was disappointed that he could not complete the objective, even if everyone knew he was going to fail. If he had not hesitated, he could have taken out Correia dos Santos and moved on with the task. He still didn’t understand why the hero was so stuck in his subconscious.

 

“The reason that man was difficult for you to fight was because he bested you in combat before we enhanced you. Your brain was sending a warning signal, because I am still working on removing your fear,” Moira explained, “I am telling you this because I hope you will learn from it and do better next time.”

 

“Thank you, ma’am,” Mani replied. He didn’t question how Moira could understand his thoughts. It wasn’t his business to know.

 

After another hour of being pumped full of formulas and testing, Mani was free to go. He walked the direct route back to his room. In the hallway, Sombra was walking toward him, but after they made eye contact, Sombra averted her gaze like she was guilty of something. Mani made a note of it and walked into his room.

 

A quick inspection indicated that nothing had changed, so Sombra could not have altered anything in his room. Mani decided that he needed real rest that was not filled with strange dreams, so he laid down on the plain cot and took a short nap.

 

~-~

 

When Mani woke up, Widowmaker was standing over him. He frowned and sat up.

 

“Get up,” Widowmaker said.

 

“Mission briefing?” Mani asked.

 

“Of sorts,” Widowmaker said vaguely, “Follow me.”

 

She walked out the door and Mani quickly got up to follow her. They went down the hall and turned into a section Mani didn’t recognize. The lights seemed to be dimmer, and no one was around. Widowmaker seemed to know where she was going, though, so Mani kept up with her. Suddenly, she opened a door and pulled Mani in after her. The door shut behind them.

 

The room was a small closet that seemed to be filled with electronic equipment and switches, at least based on all the little LED lights flickering. Strange that it would be unlocked. Widowmaker flipped on the light.

 

“We need to talk,” Widowmaker said. Mani narrowed his eyes.

 

“Why couldn’t we talk in my room?” Mani asked suspiciously.

 

“It is bugged. All of our rooms are,” Widowmaker said.

 

“What do you need to tell me that you can’t say to Talon?” Mani frowned. He didn’t like where this was going. If it turned out Widowmaker wasn’t loyal to Talon, then he would at the very least need to report her to the board.

 

“You are the second subject of the mind control experiments. I am sure you already know this, but as the first subject, I must tell you that Talon is not where your true loyalties lie,” Widowmaker said.

 

“I am completely aware of my situation, but I am entirely devoted to Talon’s goals. Why are you even telling me this?” Mani replied angrily.

 

“My brainwashing has been fading for a while, but they know they have made me too strong to take me back in for more. So they are going to make you do it. I do not want to be here either. I have been here against my will for years. But if I want to escape, I will need your help,” Widowmaker explained.

 

“What? You can’t be serious. Talon is the future. You can’t leave,” Mani argued.

 

“That is not you talking. We were… friends, before you ran away. You hated this place, and everything it stood for,” Widowmaker said.

 

“I have never run away, and I have always put Talon’s goals first.” Mani didn’t know who he was trying to convince, Widowmaker or himself.

 

“That is what they have conditioned you to think. I used to be like you. I used to be completely under their control. Now it is just an act. But they are not going to make the same mistake with you. They update your formula every week. They have to, because you fade a lot faster than I did,” Widowmaker contended.

 

“No. You’re lying. You don’t know. You’re just trying to convince me to betray the people protecting us,” Mani shook his head.

 

“They are not protecting us. They are using us. You know this, I know you what I am talking about,” Widowmaker said.

 

“I… I can’t betray Talon,” Mani said.

 

“I know it is difficult to come to terms with. I struggled with it at first. But we can help each other escape,” Widowmaker said.

 

Thoughts of doubt and confusion filled Mani’s head. Talon was lying to him, using him and trying to subdue him. Between this confusing discussion and what Mani had overheard before the Overwatch mission, Mani wasn’t sure who to trust.

 

“I can’t help you,” Mani said. 

 

He turned and left the electrical closet. Outside the door, Sombra was startled.

 

“What are you doing here?” Mani asked.

 

“I could ask the same of you,” Sombra replied.

 

“Widowmaker dragged me here,” Mani said, “But you know that, because you were eavesdropping.”

 

“Did she tell you what’s going on?” Sombra asked.

 

“So you’re in on it too?” Mani accused.

 

“You don’t understand, Mani, there’s so much wrong with what’s going on here. We have to get out of here. I… I can’t stand seeing you like this,” Sombra said.

 

Something in Mani’s chest broke. Sombra was his friend. His best friend. Faint memories of the years they spent together pressed at the barrier placed in his mind. He didn’t know what to do. Emotions had been removed for better mission performance, so Mani couldn’t figure out what he wanted.

 

“You have to help us,” Sombra said.

 

“I can’t leave,” Mani said weakly.

 

“This isn’t who you are. You, the real you, laughs and gossips with me and plays video games and wins at poker every time and sings and plays drums. You have a life outside of what they’ve turned you into,” Sombra pleaded.

 

The dam cracked. A flood of emotions and thoughts and some of the things Mani was forced to forget fell into place, splintering the carefully constructed emptiness that Talon had crafted. Mani didn’t move for a moment, just trying to process all of the new information. He had a feeling that wasn’t even half of what he was missing.

 

“I can’t…” Mani tried. There was no resistance in his mind now. He may not be free yet, but he was fading fast.

 

“I know someone who will break you out of it. But we have to go. We leave tonight,” Sombra said.

 

“But-- what? How long has it been? How long have I been here?” Mani demanded.

 

“Since they brainwashed you? A few months. But before you ran away you were here for about a year,” Sombra told Mani.

 

“I still don’t know what you guys are talking about when you say I ran away,” Mani said.

 

“We can explain later. Meet me in the break room at nine tonight. Don’t pack anything. Anything could be trackable,” Sombra said.

 

She walked away, leaving Mani with his thoughts. Amelie stepped out of the electrical room and passed Mani.

 

“This is our only chance. Don’t waste it,” Amelie said.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> laser pistols are not wlw/mlm solidarity

Once night fell, (not that Mani would know, because he had no windows) Mani crept out of his room. The hallways looked the same as they did during the day, though no one else was there. It felt strange to be out of his room at the time, as if his own body was telling him that he was wrong. He knew that the control must be hard to shake.

 

There was a short walk to the break room. Considering that no one actually took breaks, the name was misleading. It was really a glorified recreation room, with a few sofas and a TV. When Mani opened the door, no one was there. Mani didn’t know what to do.

 

It was entirely possible that Sombra and Widowmaker had tricked him into going against Talon, but he didn’t understand why Sombra of all people would try to turn him in. She had always been on his side. At least, according to his memories.

 

If he was asked, he would say he overheard Sombra and Widowmaker discussing treason and mentioning the break room. It was a weak defense, but he hadn’t done anything to break their trust before. Mani pushed the door all the way open and walked in, shutting it behind him. He sat down on the couch tentatively.

 

“Hola,” Sombra said, materializing by the coffee machine. “You can come out now, Ams.”

 

Amelie dropped down from the ceiling through one of the tiles. “Do not call me ‘Ams.’”

 

“Hello,” Mani said.

 

“We don’t have a lot of time,” Sombra said quietly. She handed Mani and Amelie slips of paper.

 

Mani’s slip read: “In six minutes, wait by the front door. Do not bring anything except your gun.”

 

“Understood,” Mani said.

 

“Very well,” Amelie said.

 

“See you later,” Sombra said.

 

She left the room. Mani started watching the clock.

 

One minute. No one moved.

 

Two minutes. Mani wondered if someone was on their way to punish them for their conspiracy.

 

Three minutes. Amelie quietly stepped out.

 

Four minutes. Mani felt like eyes were watching him from all sides.

 

Five minutes. Almost time.

 

Six minutes. Time to go.

 

Start walking. Focus on keeping a normal pace and expression. Mani felt like his body was pushing him backwards, urging him back into submission. The front door felt very far away. Two more hallways, a long staircase, and another hallway, and finally Mani was standing in front of the double glass doors leading out of the building.

 

This was it. His last chance to turn around, to stay with Talon. Even if his programming was broken, it was safer here. But safer didn’t mean better. With a final burst of resolve, Mani pushed open the door.

 

Right on time, Sombra pulled up in Amelie’s purple ferrari. Mani got into the back seat and shut the door quickly. Sombra started driving before Mani could put his seatbelt on.

 

“We’re heading north,” Sombra said.

 

The compass in the car said east. Mani understood what she was doing. The car was obviously bugged and tracked, like all the cars Talon was allowed to use. Mani just wondered where they were actually going to go.

 

They drove for several miles, making random turns. Sombra seemed to know where she was going, though. She was staring out at the road ahead of them, like it might try to fight her. Amelie was staring boredly out the window. Mani was just trying to figure out his memories.

 

Apparently, Sombra had only restored his memories to a certain extent. He didn’t have anything from before he was thirteen, or after he was twenty. The last thing he remembered before being brainwashed was the fight at the bar in Germany.

 

Hazy thoughts of being at Talon before he was brainwashed were at the edges of his conscience, but he didn’t know if they were real or still a part of his constructed allegiance to them. One thing was for sure, though: Mani did not agree with Talon’s goals.

 

“Everybody out,” Sombra decided. She turned off the car but left the key in the ignition.

 

They were in a neighborhood of a town, and no one was outside. That made sense, because it was the middle of the night. Mani got out of the car.

 

Sombra walked along the street, examining all the cars. Mani and Amelie followed her, unsure of what she was looking for.

 

“This one,” Sombra said. With a few taps on her hexadecimal keyboard, the car unlocked and turned on. “Come on, we don’t have time.”

 

They all climbed into the car. Sombra peeled out of the driveway and sped north through the town. Once they were out of sight of the residents, she turned west and went even faster. Luckily, no one else was on the road, because Mani wasn’t sure Sombra would have been able to stop.

 

They drove for such a long time, Mani started to fall asleep. He lost track of where they were around Monaco, but they stopped in Nice, then again in Barcelona, and then again in Murcia. Through his tired brain, Mani realized where they were going.

 

“Wait, why are we going there?” Mani asked.

 

“ _You’re_ going there. We have a couple other stops to make,” Sombra said.

 

“What? I don’t know anyone there. I went to kill them like, the other day,” Mani complained.

 

“You actually do know someone there, and so do I, and they can vouch for you. You’ll be fine, and they can reverse the brainwashing. After that, you can do whatever you want.

 

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Mani said. It didn’t matter, because Sombra had already made up her mind.

 

The next few hours were difficult, because Mani was acutely aware of all the problems with Sombra’s plan, and he couldn’t help but wonder what she was going to say to get them to trust him. Mani couldn’t blame them if they wanted to shoot him on sight.

 

Finally, they rolled down the coastal cliff road that would lead them to the Overwatch base. About a hundred meters from the door, Sombra unlocked the doors.

 

“See you later, Mani. Have fun,” Sombra said. She didn’t sound too happy about her plan either

 

“See you,” Mani said, resigned. He pulled himself out of the car and started walking.

 

The car turned around and boosted away. Mani was alone except for a bunch of people he didn’t know that probably wanted to kill him.

 

Walking down the road was easier than it should have been. Mani figured it was because he had shot out all of the security cameras, so they couldn’t see him coming. But instead of going to the door he went to the last time, Mani walked around to the main entrance, where one camera remained.

 

As soon as Mani walked up, the camera turned directly towards him. Mani slowly and deliberately took out his gun and set it down on the ground. He put his hands in the air and sank to his knees. He waited.

 

Sure enough, the door slid open. Out zipped a young woman with spiky brown hair that Mani recognized as Tracer. She was holding two laser pistols up to his face.

 

“What are you doing here?” Tracer demanded. Mani chanced a look at her face. She was angry.

 

“I was dropped off here and told that you guys could fix my brainwashing,” Mani said. He wasn’t lying, but he also wasn’t telling the whole truth.

 

“Who dropped you off?” Tracer asked.

 

“Sombra and Amelie,” Mani admitted.

 

Tracer lowered her pistols. Mani didn’t understand why.

 

“Stay here,” Tracer commanded. She flashed back inside and the doors closed behind her.

 

A few minutes passed. Mani wondered if they were preparing weapons to take him out. Before he began worrying, though, Tracer came back out with two people.

 

“He says Sombra and Amelie brought him here, and that we’re supposed to fix his brain,” Tracer explained.

 

The woman on Tracer’s right studied Mani, like he was a puzzle she was trying to solve. Mani tried his best to look innocent. It wasn’t easy.

 

“I mean, that’s him, but who knows what Talon is trying to do here,” Lúcio said. His voice tugged at Mani’s chest.

 

“Sombra has already warned me of his arrival. As you know, I have been in contact with her,” The woman said. Since when had Sombra been in contact with ~~the enemy~~ Overwatch?

 

“Right, but does that make him more or less trustworthy?” Lúcio said. Mani felt like something was wrong. Lúcio’s voice wavered, like he knew which one he wanted to believe.

 

“I don’t trust him. You don’t, either, Lúc, or else you wouldn’t have stopped him when he was here the other day,” Tracer said.

 

“I did that as a precaution. Then the Talon jet came and picked him up. I thought we might have been able to question him,” Lúcio said.

 

“You are being too kind. He is not who he was to you anymore. Talon has made sure of it,” The woman on Tracer’s right said.

 

“Yeah, you might be too close to this one,” Tracer agreed.

 

That didn’t make sense. Mani and Lúcio didn't know each other. Just because Mani had some weird dream about him doesn’t mean that they were close. Moira had mentioned that they had fought before, but Mani didn’t really believe that either.

 

“Let’s just see what he has to say,” Lúcio suggested, “We can decide… what to do later.”

 

“Fine. But if we all end up hypnotized and killed it’s your fault,” Tracer said.

 

The woman on Tracer’s right seemed like she knew the result was coming, but she didn’t agree with it. She stepped over to Mani and pulled his arms behind his back. He felt something holding his wrists together. Tracer came over to help the woman pull Mani into a standing position while Lúcio came over and picked up the gun Mani had set down.

 

The team brought Mani inside, through a maze of blue and grey hallways. They reached a room that was empty save for a table, chair, and one way mirror. An interrogation room. The woman attached the handcuffs to the chair and walked away. Tracer did a check of the room to make sure Mani couldn’t escape. Lúcio stood back, looking like he was going to cry.

 

The Overwatch members walked out of the room, shutting the door behind them without another word. Mani felt like he had been in that situation before. He looked down at the table, thinking about what he was going to say.

 

What could he say? “Hey, sorry I tried to kill you guys, but I promise I’m a real person now, so help me get my memories back.” That wasn’t exactly convincing.

 

Before he could figure out something to say, the speaker crackled to life. Mani looked up from the table. Maybe they were going to tell him he was going to die.

 

“Can you state your name, age, and date of birth?” An unfamiliar voice asked.

 

“Mani Hersteller, twenty, May 28, 2057,” Mani said. He hoped he wasn’t lying.

 

“You’re young for a Talon member,” The voice said.

 

“Sombra recruited me just over a year ago,” Mani explained. He didn’t remember the exact details, but Talon had left the vague idea.

 

“And where is Sombra now?” The voice asked.

 

“She and Amelie Lacroix are driving somewhere, they said they had other things to take care of when they dropped me off here,” Mani said.

 

“Are their goals Talon-assigned?” The voice implied.

 

“I don’t think so. We stole a car to get here untracked,” Mani said, “And Sombra said someone here could undo the brainwashing that Talon did to me.”

 

The speaker was silent. Mani wondered if he said something wrong.

 

“If you prove to be trustworthy, then we can look into fixing you,” The voice said finally, “We will send someone in to analyze your memory.”

 

Then the speaker shut off. Mani hoped that the person would come soon, and that it wouldn’t be Lúcio. They seemed to have some sort of history and Mani hated not remembering it.

 

The clock in the room ticked, marking the seconds that turned into minutes that turned into an hour and forty-five minutes. Mani was wondering what they would say to him, and what he would say in return. He didn’t remember anything between the ages of nineteen and two and a half months ago. That was almost two years missing, and Mani had a feeling that a lot had happened in those twenty-one months.

 

Once the door started sliding open, Mani was resigned to his fate. He would be deemed a liar and an enemy and they would have no choice but to kill him. He wondered if Sombra planned for that outcome.

 

In through the door came Lúcio. Mani stared down at the table.

 

“--not objective,” someone outside the door said.

 

Lúcio looked back at them and said, “It doesn’t matter. I’m the only one who can.”

 

Metallic footsteps echoed through the silent room. Mani didn’t look up, even when Lúcio pulled a chair up to the table. He had a feeling he wouldn’t like what he saw.

 

“So you’re here to decide whether I live or die,” Mani said bluntly.

 

“I’m here to decide whether you need therapy or you’re going to kill us,” Lúcio replied.

 

“Same difference. What am I even supposed to tell you? ‘Oh hey, sorry I tried to kill you on Tuesday, Talon was making me do it. And also they took away all my memories so even though you look so sad when you see me I don’t know why,’” Mani said.

 

“You can start with telling me what you do remember. Especially anything about Talon’s plans, anything we can use against them,” Lúcio said.

 

At the mention of going against Talon, Mani’s resolve flickered and his fists clenched in their restraints. He knew that this would be hard.

 

“I remember joining Los Muertos, I remember working with Sombra for six years, and I remember her helping me leave them. Then, almost two years later, I remember everything from late January. Sombra mentioned something about running away before that, but I don’t know what she meant,” Mani described, “I… I worked for Talon, and I hypnotized all the people Talon wanted me to. They sent me to all the companies, governments, militaries, whatever they wanted control over. You guys are grossly outnumbered.”

 

Lúcio was silent. Mani heard the sound of a holopad and saw Lúcio typing out of the corner of his eye.

 

“Can anyone else control them now that you hypnotized them?” Lúcio asked. He sounded like he didn’t really want to know.

 

“No, only I can talk to them. I can go back to undo all the hypnosis, but I think by the time I get there Talon will have guards up. And I don’t think I can go back there by myself with the brainwashing,” Mani explained.

 

“Okay, we can work on that,” Lúcio said.

 

“So it’s a no on killing me then?” Mani asked.

 

“I’ll have to ask the commanders, but probably not,” Lúcio said. His voice indicated that he would fight for Mani. Mani didn’t understand why, but he decided he would find out.

 

“Can I… can I ask you something?” Mani requested, finally looking up at Lúcio.

 

“I guess,” Lúcio replied.

 

“When they said I ran away, were you there? Did I hurt you or something?” Mani inquired.

 

Lúcio was the one looking down at the table then. He paused, considering his answer.

 

“Not quite. I mean, yeah, I was there, but you didn’t hurt me,” Lúcio started. He looked back at the one-way mirror, like someone was about to tell him to stop. “It was kinda the opposite. You, uh, you saved me from a bunch of Talon and Vishkar people who were surrounding me. We got away on your motorcycle and went to America. You were going to go into hiding, y’know, start over with a new life, and we went to see your mom. Then… someone showed up, drove us right into a trap. You sacrificed yourself to get me out of there, and I’ve been conflicted about it ever since.”

 

Mani was stunned. All of that had happened, and he didn’t even remember it. But why would he do it in the first place?

 

“How did I end up rescuing you? No offense, but I don’t trust people like that. Especially to go see my mom?” Mani frowned.

 

“Well, there was a weird back-and-forth where I rescued you from a partially collapsed building and then we didn’t kill each other in Ilios because we made a truce and then I tackled you away from a bomb and then we had lunch together and then you came with me and some friends to a bar and then you saved me and then you saved me again,” Lúcio said.

 

Tracking the story, Mani hated that it wasn’t clicking in his brain. He felt like he could trust Lúcio, but nothing he was saying was there. Talon must have done a lot of work on that part of his memories.

 

“Huh. Well, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lead you into a trap,” Mani apologized.

 

Lúcio let out a bitter laugh. “You haven’t changed.”

 

“What do you mean?” Mani asked.

 

“The whole trip, you kept asking if I wanted to leave. You talked about being selfish, but you didn’t want me to ‘waste money’ on you. And right before we were taken back into Talon, you made this big deal out of it being your fault and how I shouldn’t worry about you. And you said-- you know what, nevermind. I could be talking to a wall right now and I can’t do that anymore,” Lúcio said, getting more and more upset.

 

“I know I did some fucked up shit while I was brainwashed, so you were right to do it, but why did you hit me when I came to the base?” Mani asked.

 

“You made me promise that if I ever saw you again, I would kill you. So when you appeared at the door with the dark look in your eyes, I knew you weren’t here to apologize. I knew in theory that you were dangerous, but I couldn’t kill you, so I just hit you as a distraction. The Talon jet picked you up and I hid, and then you were gone,” Lúcio explained.

 

“That’s fair,” Mani mused.

 

But Lúcio still seemed sad, like he knew Mani couldn’t remember. Lúcio was holding back, not explaining everything. Something must have happened between them. Mani felt a pang in his chest at the thought. So something definitely happened.

 

“I’m sorry,” was all Mani could say.

 

“It’s not your fault. Talon--they ruined everything,” Lúcio said.

 

“You said someone drove us into the trap Talon set. Do you know who?” Mani asked. He could find them.

 

“You aren’t going to like what I’m going to say,” Lúcio warned.

 

“So far a lot of things people are saying don’t make sense, so just get it over with,” Mani sighed.

 

“It was Sombra,” Lúcio admitted. Mani frowned.

 

Hazy memories of something Sombra used to say to Mani floated in his mind. “Stay selfish.”

 

“I think I had a reason to justify that,” Mani said, “I just can’t remember what it is.”

 

“Yeah, when we were in the truck you mentioned your guys’s motto. ‘Stay selfish’ or whatever. Kinda terrible, but it made sense in your situation,” Lúcio said.

 

“You’re still mad at her,” Mani pointed out.

 

“Yeah, it’s hard to be friends with someone who pushes you and your…friend into Talon’s hands,” Lúcio said bitterly. Mani couldn’t blame him.

 

“At least I was brainwashed and not killed, so now I’m here,” Mani tried to reason.

 

“Yeah.”

 

But Lúcio didn’t sound so excited. It sounded like he didn’t trust his luck that Mani was back. Lúcio put his finger to the comm in his ear.

 

“I gotta go. Once I submit this information, you should be able to be in a room instead of this place,” Lúcio said.

 

“Thank you,” Mani said. Lúcio just nodded and walked out of the room.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trust is a dangerous thing.

As Lúcio said, Mani was moved into an empty room within an hour. The two people escorting him, a buff woman with pink hair and a cyborg with green runner lights, didn’t seem to be protecting themselves from Mani’s ability. Did they even know what he could do?

 

“This will be your room until further notice. Please stay in here unless instructed otherwise,” The pink-haired woman said. Mani nodded.

 

The two agents left, and Mani was alone in the empty room. He looked at the walls, like they might reveal something to do. There were seams, but no activators. The only thing Mani could see was a panel of glass next to the door. He went over and tapped it.

 

“Hello, Detainee Hersteller. Can I help you?” A cool feminine voice said. Mani jumped.

 

“Uh, hello, is this room supposed to be empty?” Mani asked. The glass panel was now lit up, with different circles and sliders.

 

“If you would like, I can activate the bed, television, and the bathroom,” The voice offered.

 

“Uh, that would be great, thanks,” Mani said. He didn’t know where he was supposed to face, considering the voice took up the whole room.

 

“Of course. If you need anything, my name is Athena,” Athena said.

 

“Cool,” Mani said. 

 

The panel went dark. Out of the left wall slid a twin sized cot and a small table with a remote. Another section of the wall across from the door slid open, revealing a bathroom. On the wall across from the bed, a television turned on. Mani wondered why Talon never had user-friendly rooms like that.

 

The television said it was 1730. Mani was exhausted. He hadn’t slept in over a day, and the adrenaline of escaping and figuring out his memories had worn off. He took his shoes off and laid down on the bed. He was out within a minute.

 

~-~

 

“Detainee Hersteller, Agent 76 would like you to meet him in conference room A3,” Athena informed. Mani blinked his eyes open.

 

Then he shot up. “Athena, what time is it?”

 

“It is 2227,” Athena informed.

 

“Great. How do I get to wherever you just told me to go?” Mani asked.

 

“An agent is waiting to assist you,” Athena said.

 

“Oh. Thanks,” Mani said. He got out of bed and went into the bathroom.

 

That was a mistake. Mani was a wreck. At some point during the months Talon had controlled him, his hair had been dyed a slick bluish black, like Amelie’s. His clothes, like his hair, were also subject to Talon’s abhorrent fashion. They had given him a black leather vest with a hood over a tight purple half sleeve shirt and black leggings with hexagonal eyes on them. To finish off the look was a pair of black combat boots with steel toes. Combined with his obviously unrested demeanor, he looked like he had been thrown out of a cyberpunk concert.

 

After pushing his hair back, splashing water on his face, and putting his shoes back on, Mani walked out into the hallway. Leaning on the opposite wall was Lúcio, on his phone.

 

“Hey,” Mani said.

 

“Oh, hey. You ready to talk to the boss?” Lúcio greeted.

 

“I guess,” Mani said.

 

Lúcio nodded and gestured for Mani to follow him down the hallway. Mani did so without hesitating. Something in his mind had no problem trusting Lúcio.

 

“I have a lot of questions,” Mani admitted. They turned down another hallway.

 

“I'm sure you do,” Lúcio said, “After this, I can maybe help you answer some of them.”

 

“Who am I talking to?” Mani asked.

 

“Soldier 76. He runs the tactical stuff,” Lúcio said, with an air of disdain. He typed in a passcode to open a door.

 

“You don't like him?” Mani implied.

 

“He has a lot of opinions and he doesn't take criticism,” Lúcio explained.

 

“So I don't get to explain myself,” Mani understood.

 

“Probably not. But it won't be too bad. He can't make any major decisions unless everyone agrees,” Lúcio said. 

 

“I can't wait,” Mani said sarcastically. For a moment, he thought he saw a smile flicker across Lúcio’s face.

 

They stopped outside a blue door.

 

“This is it,” Lúcio said, “Good luck.”

 

“Thanks,” Mani said.

 

The door slid open. Mani glanced at Lúcio one last time before going in. The door slid shut behind him.

 

“Hello, Mr. Hersteller. We have a lot to talk about,” Soldier 76 said. He was sitting at the end of a long conference table, in the only chair. “Have a seat.”

 

A chair rose from the ground at the end of the table closest to Mani. He walked over and sat down.

 

“So, Mr. Hersteller,” Soldier 76 started, “Just a few days ago you were waiting at the door to kill us. Why should we trust you now?”

 

“I’m sure you know I was brainwashed. You should have intel on Amelie Lacroix, and her condition. I was treated to the same thing, but more. They were renewing the control every week. And besides, do you think any person in their right mind would choose this outfit?” Mani explained. Soldier’s face changed, because he knew exactly who would choose that outfit. 

 

“So why are you here, Mr. Hersteller?” Soldier 76 asked. 

 

The formality grated on Mani’s nerves, like the man himself. Not only that, but it reminded him of the people who would come to talk to his dad when he was young. They never meant well.

 

“I was dropped off here by Sombra,” Mani said.

 

“And where is she?” Soldier 76 asked.

 

“I don’t know. She never tells anyone the whole plan. That’s how we managed to escape,” Mani said.

 

“From where?” Soldier 76 asked.

 

“Talon’s facilities in Italy. We drove all night and half the day just to get here. And she’s taking Amelie even further. She has a longer history, and they’ll look for her in her estate in France,” Mani said, “I don’t know if you’ll be able to find them, but we might need their help.”

 

“With what?” Soldier 76 frowned.

 

Wait. Soldier didn’t know about what he had done. He didn’t even know about Mani’s abilities, which showed in the way they hadn’t taken any precautions against them.

 

“I… swayed the opinion of most powerful people in the world. CEOs, military leaders, government officials, anyone that could be used by Talon. I need to undo the… pressure I placed on them. However I do that is up to you guys,” Mani informed.

 

“That’s why we haven’t gotten any clearance,” Soldier 76 muttered to himself.

 

“Whether you decide to support me or not, I will do what I can to fix what they made me do,” Mani promised. It was his obligation, especially considering that he had chosen to be brainwashed.

 

“I see.” Soldier 76 brought up a holopad and typed a few things in. Mani waited with bated breath.

 

The door slid open, and Ana Amari revealed herself.

 

“Hello, Mr. Hersteller,” Ana said, stepping into the room. Her voice was tight and dark. Mani was sure they had met before, but he didn’t remember it.

 

“Hello,” Mani said, trying to be as helpful as possible.

 

“I’m sure you don’t recall, but I knew something like Tuesday would happen. Now you come to us asking for help,” Ana said.

 

Mani protested, “I don’t need help. I was dropped off--” 

 

“--By Sombra, I am aware. However, you are the reason we have not had mission clearances in a month. You tried to kill one of our agents just the other day. You single handedly brought the entire world to the edge of war,” Ana lectured.

 

A screen flickered on behind Soldier 76. It was an Atlas News report.

 

“Tensions worldwide are growing between omnic-friendly and anti-omnic countries. Military threats are being made. The world could be on the verge of World War III,” the anchor said, “Jenna is in Berlin right now about to talk to the Chancellor of Germany. Jenna?”

 

“So, Ms. Chancellor, what are your plans for the growing conflict?” Jenna asked.

 

The chancellor’s eyes seemed to glaze over. “Omnics destroyed my country. Anyone who supports them is directly harmful to our goals.”

 

“Oh, okay, thank you for your time,” Jenna said, looking concerned. “Back to you, Rowan.”

 

The screen shut off.

 

“Something is wrong with everyone they talk to. It’s the same thing that happened to Symmetra and Lúcio. And I have a strong feeling that you are behind it,” Ana said sharply.

 

“What do you mean?” Mani played dumb.

 

“You somehow managed to get two highly trained agents to abandon their mission simply by talking to them. When we tested their blood, there were no traces of drugs in their system. So how did you do it?” Ana accused. Mani sighed.

 

There was no getting out of this. Mani realized that whatever someone--no, Lúcio was definitely the one who had done it--was doing to protect him wouldn’t work. Then an idea came into his head.

 

“It’s hard light,” Mani fudged. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth. Mani specialized in that.

 

“What? You’re with Vishkar?” Soldier 76 demanded.

 

“No! My… my mom was in a test group to earn money before she met my father. They gave her a weapon that would get people to do whatever she wanted them to do. She taught me the secret to it. It’s the only thing I have left from her,” Mani said. He was edging more into the lies.

 

“The gun you had was Vishkar made. How does it work?” Ana asked.

 

“You have to aim the light the right way into their eyes, and the blast somehow affects their brain, like hypnosis.” Mani was full on lying now. But he couldn’t let them know.

 

“Hm.” Ana seemed like she didn’t know if she should believe him. He was lying, but she should still believe him.

 

“Are you the only one who can operate it?” Soldier 76 asked.

 

“Yes, I think so. I showed it to Sombra once, and she could never get the right angle,” Mani replied immediately.

 

“Then I guess we have to keep you around,” Soldier 76 decided, “At least then Talon can’t find you again.”

 

“Thank you,” Mani said.

 

Ana didn’t look pleased, but she clearly wasn’t going to say anything.

 

“In that case, we can hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss how you will repair the damage,” Soldier 76 said, “Athena, send an alert for the meeting. It will be tomorrow at 0900.”

 

“The alert has been sent,” Athena reported.

 

“You’re free to go. We’re going to hold on to your gun, for obvious reasons,” Soldier 76 said, standing up.

 

Both him and Ana left the room. Mani followed closely, not eager to end up trapped in the empty conference room. The two agents went down the hallway opposite of where Mani had come from. That route led to Lúcio, who was on his phone a few meters from the door. He looked up.

 

“Hey,” Lúcio greeted.

 

“Hey. Where can we talk?” Mani asked.

 

“I know a good spot,” Lúcio said mysteriously. He started walking, so Mani followed him.

 

Through a few hallways, a closet, and a set of doors was a long dirt path that led up to the edge of a cliff. Mani nearly gasped when he saw the view. The moon hung over the water, casting reflections along with the stars on the rippling ocean, which was framed by the surrounding cliffs.

 

“Woah,” Mani said softly.

 

“It’s pretty nice, isn’t it? I’m sure everyone knows about it, but for some reason no one is ever out here,” Lúcio smiled. 

 

Mani glanced over at him, seeing the moon reflected in his eyes. A tug in Mani’s chest urged him closer, but he resisted. Instead, he cleared his throat.

 

“So. I have a lot of questions,” Mani said.

 

“Where do you wanna start?” Lúcio inquired.

 

“Why didn’t you tell them?” Mani asked immediately. Lúcio looked surprised.

 

“Tell them… oh, about that. I guess it was kinda selfish, I wanted to be able to talk to you, instead of you being locked away and not allowed to talk to anyone,” Lúcio admitted.

 

“You think that’s selfish? You might have saved my life,” Mani said, “I mean, I made up some half truths so they would let me go. If I told them, I don’t know what would happen.”

 

“Yeah, they wouldn’t go easy on you,” Lúcio said.

 

“What happened here? What was it like after I started fucking everything up?” Mani asked.

 

“Well, it was slow. The missions stopped being granted, so we just sat around doing nothing. Me and some others did stuff on our own, because we’re not technically agents, but nothing was officially sanctioned,” Lúcio said.

 

“Did anything… did anyone get hurt?” Mani asked worriedly.

 

“Not yet. Things are still building up. We just have to stop things before they happen,” Lúcio said.

 

“Okay. What did you do?” Mani asked.

 

“I was mostly working against Vishkar with Satya,” Lúcio said.

 

“Who?” Mani asked.

 

“Oh, you don’t remember her. Wow. Okay. She’s the one with a communication link to Sombra. Long black hair, looks at you like you’re a speck of dust?” Lúcio said.

 

“Oh, her. We met before, didn’t we?” Mani said.

 

“Yeah. I mean… right before we ran away,” Lúcio said.

 

“I meant to ask about that. What happened? Why did you come with me?” Mani asked.

 

“Overwatch sent out a mission to extract data from the Vishkar headquarters. You were with Talon on defense, but you came to help us. We went in, things were going great until I got separated. Everyone else left, but you came back to help me. We went from there to America, and we were in Las Vegas with your mom when Sombra came,” Lúcio summed up.

 

Faint images of their adventure came in fractured thoughts, but Mani still wasn’t making the connection. He hated that he couldn’t remember, and Lúcio had no reason to lie. Mani didn’t think that he would, at least from what he could recall. Lúcio seemed to recognize Mani’s anguish.

 

“It’s okay if you don’t remember. I’m sure it’ll come back to you eventually,” Lúcio said, “Besides, what matters now is what’s coming next.”

 

“One more thing,” Mani said.

 

“Go ahead,” Lúcio said.

 

“Why do you trust me so much?” Mani asked bluntly.

 

“What?” Lúcio frowned.

 

“You said you were the ‘only one’ who could interrogate me. You’ve been escorting me around. You brought me to the  _ edge _ of a  _ cliff _ where someone could easily hurt you and no one would know until they found you. What happened--what did I do to you that made you think I’m not dangerous?” Mani pointed out, more incredulously with every word.

 

“You didn’t do anything to me!” Lúcio interrupted.

 

“But how would you know that?” Mani exclaimed.

 

Lúcio was silent. His face darkened, like he hadn’t considered that possibility. Mani watched him think. Lúcio turned away. Mani crumpled.

 

“I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to be another person on the list of lives I’ve ruined,” Mani sighed.

 

“I want to trust you,” Lúcio said softly, still looking out over the sea.

 

“That’s a dangerous thing to want,” Mani warned.

 

“I don’t think you would ever hurt me,” Lúcio said, voice stronger.

 

“I wish I could promise you that,” Mani ached.

 

For a few minutes, the only sound was the ocean crashing against the cliff hundreds of feet below. Mani felt like his stomach had taken the plunge. Finally, Lúcio spoke.

 

“Do you remember the first thing I said to you? Well, I guess it was a note. But it was the first time we ever interacted,” Lúcio said.

 

“No,” Mani said sadly.

 

Lúcio huffed out a humorless laugh. “It was a note on a vase of flowers. I had just dropped you off at a hospital, after I pulled you out of an exploded building we were staking out. It said: ‘This is the second time I’ve found you, so I’m guessing we’re on different sides. Either way, try not to make it a third time.’”

 

“You got flowers for someone who was technically your enemy. I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long,” Mani said.

 

Lúcio looked back at Mani, smiling. “You’re still the same.”

 

“I hope that’s true,” Mani said.

 

The two stood silently, looking from each other to the horizon. The space between them felt like it was charged with energy, and one wrong move would destroy them both. Mani barely breathed.

 

“I think we should go in,” Lúcio said after a while. “They’re gonna wonder where we are.”

 

Mani said nothing and let Lúcio lead the way. They went back inside, back to Mani’s room. There they stood awkwardly for a moment, before Mani nodded weirdly and went into the room. The door slid shut quietly behind him.

 

It was an awful feeling. Between not being able to remember and not knowing if he had or would ever hurt Lúcio, Mani felt like a failure. He knew nothing of his recent life, the only person that completely trusted him might not be doing it of his own free will, and he had brought the world to the brink of global warfare.

 

Instead of confronting his problems, Mani would run away, as usual. He kicked off his shoes bitterly and dropped down onto the bed. He would face his not-trial tomorrow.

 

~-~

 

Luckily, Mani was not jolted awake this time. Instead, he woke up at dawn and his body refused to go back to sleep. He was used to not sleeping, though, so it wasn’t the worst.

 

“Detainee Hersteller, the meeting is in forty-five minutes. It is recommended that you get ready and make your way to the mess hall to eat before you go,” Athena said.

 

“Oh, I didn’t realize I was allowed to do that,” Mani thought out loud. So far, all of his movements had been guarded, in some sense of the word.

 

In the bathroom, there was a shower, so Mani went in and cleaned up. He lamented not having a change of clothes, and then a sense of deja vu washed over him. A different place, a different bathroom, but the same feeling. Mani brushed it off and got dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing for two days.

 

After that, he slowly opened the door. He peeked out, as if someone might be waiting outside to punish him for leaving. No one was there. Mani walked out, and started following signs to the mess hall. It was a mostly straight shot, with one turn into the main hallway. Apparently Mani was staying in Residence Hallway 1.

 

When he walked into the mess hall, a few people were there. Mani didn’t recognize anyone except for Tracer, who was sitting at a table with the green cyborg, an omnic monk, and a blonde woman in a white doctor coat. 

 

“You here for breakfast?” A voice behind him asked. Mani turned to whoever it was.

 

It was a cowboy. Mani thought he looked familiar, but as with everything else, he couldn’t place the man in his mind.

 

“Yeah,” Mani replied, hoping the man would introduce himself.

 

“The kitchen’s over here. I’ll help ya get sorted,” the cowboy said.

 

He led Mani along the wall of the mess hall to an industrial kitchen.

 

“We got whatever ya want. Really. Seems like half our budget goes to food,” the cowboy said, “Ya just can’t have anything that someone wrote their name on.”

 

“Okay,” Mani said, looking around at the stainless steel cabinets.

 

“I jus’ realized. You don’ recognize me, do ya?” McCree said. Mani nodded. “Name’s McCree. Resident badass cowboy gunslinger.”

 

He held out a hand for Mani to shake. Mani did so warily. McCree nodded once and gestured to the cabinets.

 

“Have at it. I’m just gonna get some coffee,” McCree said.

 

McCree strolled toward the other end of the kitchen. Mani stood awkwardly for a moment, before turning to the cabinets and opening one. It was full of different types of cereal, but it was mostly Lúcio-Os. Mani pulled out the box that had been opened and poured a little bit into a metal bowl from the counter.

 

Once he had gotten his breakfast, Mani walked back out to the mess hall. There were only a few tables with people at them, compared with the amount of tables. Mani went over to an empty table that was close to the occupied ones but not close enough to draw attention to himself.

 

Some more people entered the mess hall. Mani hoped he hadn’t accidentally sat at their table. No one gave him a dirty look, so he figured he was safe. At least, he was until Lúcio walked in.

 

The clock said it was 0840, so it was too early to go to the conference room. Mani didn’t remember how to get there, anyway. He had to find out if Lúcio was going to ignore him or not. He tried act normal, staring at the table as he ate the cereal. What if Lúcio thought it was weird that Mani was eating his cereal?

 

Of course, because somehow Lúcio didn’t seem to be upset with Mani, he said something to a girl with blue eyeliner and long brown hair and started walking toward Mani. Mani pretended not to notice until Lúcio reached the table.

 

“Hey,” Lúcio grinned.

 

“What’s up?” Mani said, with no emotion in his voice.

 

Lúcio took notice immediately. He sat down across from Mani, a concerned look on his face.

 

“What’s wrong?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Just, you know, everything,” Mani said.

 

“Is the cereal helping?” Lúcio asked. Mani looked up in confusion.

 

“What?” Mani said.

 

“The cereal,” Lúcio grinned. 

 

Mani looked from the bowl to Lúcio, fighting the smile growing on his face. To be honest, the cereal was good. Mani wished it really would solve his problems.

 

“You know you don’t have to sit with me. You clearly have other friends,” Mani said.

 

“I sit with them every day. You need moral support,” Lúcio said.

 

“How did we ever get along? You’re so nice,” Mani asked.

 

“I was forcibly kind to you until you eventually fell for my charm,” Lúcio smirked. Mani couldn’t help but smile.

 

“Now you’ll have to do it all over again,” Mani said.

 

“I don’t mind,” Lúcio said.

 

Mani felt heat rising in his cheeks. No one had been honestly nice to him in all the time he could remember. Now Lúcio was promising to stay by his side, and Mani felt overwhelmed.

 

“What do you think will happen at the meeting?” Mani asked.

 

“You’ll get assigned a mission, people will be picked to go with you. No offense, but no one is going to volunteer,” Lúcio said.

 

“Not even you?” Mani challenged.

 

“I don’t count. I’m your unofficial chaperone,” Lúcio said.

 

“You’re an extremely biased chaperone,” Mani pointed out.

 

“What can I say? You’re someone I care about,” Lúcio said honestly.

 

Mani’s heart flipped in his chest. He immediately wanted to become defensive, explaining why Lúcio shouldn’t say that. But it wasn’t the time or the place. Besides, they had some sort of history, and he wanted to know about it. Pushing away the only person who could tell him would only make things worse.

 

“We should probably get to the conference room,” Mani mumbled.

 

Lúcio seemed to understand he had pushed too far. Mani watched his face change, becoming more resolute and less amiable. Mani hated being the one to take away Lúcio’s happiness.

 

“Yeah, probably. You can just leave your bowl in the sink for now,” Lúcio said.

 

Mani did so and walked with Lúcio out to the hallway. Other agents were also starting to filter out on their way to the conference room. Lúcio talked with some of them as they walked. Mani felt slightly left out, even if he knew he didn’t belong there anyway.

 

When they went into the conference room, Soldier 76 and Ana Amari were already there, along with the gorilla Winston. Mani had never met him, but he knew about him from the mission file when he was coming to attack. Several other people were also there, most of them people Mani didn’t recognize. When they noticed him, they all stopped talking.

 

Carefully, Mani took a seat next between Lúcio and Soldier 76. They both looked wary, for different reasons. Mani hoped nothing would happen.

 

“Good Morning, everyone,” Winston started, “Recently, as you all know, Mani Hersteller has arrived here. As some of you know, he is the reason World War III is building up.”

 

Mutters of dissent verging on chaos broke out around the table. Winston raised a hand, and they quieted down.

 

“I understand your anger. However, Mr. Hersteller is here to help us fix where he went wrong. Mr. 76, I believe you have the mission plans?” Winston directed.

 

“We are starting with Katya Volskaya. She has been one of the most aggressive players in this argument, so we’re hoping once she is out of it the tensions won’t be so high. She also has heavy firepower, and her involvement would guarantee major destruction,” Soldier 76 informed, “So. We need five people, besides Hersteller, to infiltrate the headquarters and get her out of Talon’s control.”

 

“I’ll go,” Lúcio volunteered immediately.

 

“Of course you will. Who else?” Soldier 76 said.

 

“I will go,” Satya volunteered. Mani was surprised.

 

“I will also go. I knew that Ms. Volskaya would not act like this,” Zarya (pink-haired woman) said.

 

“I can go,” Hana (blue eyeliner girl) shrugged.

 

“One more person,” Soldier 76 said.

 

The room was silent. Finally, Ana looked at Soldier 76.

 

“I will go with them,” Ana said. Mani really wished she hadn’t.

 

“That’s settled, then. You leave in two hours,” Soldier 76 said.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> self care is having your forgotten not-boyfriend set you on fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little bit of angsty hurt/comfort in the middle of the night with content warning for explosions and guilt at not saving everyone

Six and a half hours later, they touched down in Russia.

 

Everyone was silent for most of the trip. Mani understood that no one really trusted him, probably not even Lúcio after the previous night. The jet took them from Gibraltar to about five kilometers away from the Volskaya headquarters. They were going to stay in an abandoned warehouse-turned-military bunker that had been refurbished by Overwatch.

 

The base had five rooms that branched off from the entry room, which was a large rectangle with a table in the center. The first room was a storage room, full of food and supplies. The second was a bathroom. The other three were bunks. All of them were freezing cold. Once everyone loaded in with all of their supplies, Mani felt like his skin had frosted over.

 

“We can start the heater, but it will not warm up for several hours,” Satya said.

 

“So what’s the plan?” Lúcio asked.

 

“We will wait here, scan their security, and set up a meeting with Ms. Volskaya,” Ana explained, “And then  _ he _ will remove the pressure that is forcing Volskaya to act like this.”

 

Ana and Zarya gave Mani dirty looks. Mani didn’t acknowledge them.

 

“What are we doing now?” Hana asked.

 

“We can get some rest until tomorrow. I will go see if there is anything edible in storage,” Ana said.

 

No one seemed to have any problem with that, so then came the task of dividing up rooms.

 

“Dibs on the room closest to the heater!” Hana called out.

 

“It’s two people to a room,” Lúcio pointed out.

 

“Whatever. It’s so cold in here,” Hana said. She picked up her bag and walked to the far room.

 

“I will share with her,” Satya said. She sounded extremely reluctant, but her shaking shoulders betrayed her temperature. She followed Hana into the room.

 

“I will take the room closest to the door. This is nothing,” Zarya said. She went into the closest room.

 

“I guess we’ll take the middle one then,” Lúcio said to Mani.

 

Oh. Mani hadn’t even thought about sharing a room with Lúcio. It was the obvious choice, but the leftover tension from last night was still there. Mani didn’t want to end up pushing away the only person who seemed to care about him. 

 

They set their bags in the room (because Lúcio had been nice enough to find Mani some new clothes) and went back to the main area. Ana walked out of the storage room carrying a box of rations. 

 

“Eat up,” she said unenthusiastically.

 

They all pulled out variations of tasteless dried food and sat at the the table. They ate in silence. Mani didn't look up from the table the whole time.

 

Once everyone had finished their food, everyone split off into their sleeping arrangements. Mani and Lúcio looked at each other before going into the room. It was a blank rectangle with six thin cots lining the far wall.

 

“Ten out of ten for interior design,” Lúcio remarked. Mani couldn't help but smile.

 

“Do you think the heater will start working soon?” Mani asked.

 

“Probably not. I helped fix this place up and it was cold the whole time,” Lúcio said.

 

“I guess real beds weren’t in the budget,” Mani said. Lúcio snickered.

 

“We can take the blankets from the beds we’re not using,” Lúcio suggested. Mani nodded.

 

They got to work piling all the blankets onto the two cots in the center. When they were done, they had six blankets each. Mani didn’t know if that would be enough. 

 

After they got ready to sleep, they came back to the room. As they went through the doorway, their shoulders brushed. Searing heat burned where Mani’s arm had hit Lúcio’s, making Mani jump away quickly.

 

“What’s wrong?” Lúcio asked.

 

“You… you’re really hot. Not like--you know what I mean. It was like you burned me,” Mani said. Lúcio frowned.

 

“I don’t think that was me,” Lúcio said, “Are you okay?”

 

“I feel fine, except for where…” Mani felt the spot, checking for any sign that something happened. Nothing was there, but the pain hadn’t quite faded.

 

“Huh. Maybe it’s got something to do with, uh, what they…” Lúcio trailed off.

 

“Maybe,” Mani said. He walked over to his cot and sat on the edge. “I’ll see if I can sleep it off.”

 

“Goodnight,” Lúcio said, walking over to his own cot.

 

The cot was uncomfortable, and the blankets were scratchy, but it wasn’t the worst. Mani was still cold, but it was more of the internal cold he usually felt rather than the temperature. He fell asleep and dreamed of memories of riding on a hypertrain, the first dreams he had had in months.

 

~-~

 

The mission itself went smoothly. Mani was in and out within an hour. He completely undid any control, because while it would have been safer to guarantee Volskaya wouldn’t side with Talon, Mani was absolutely done with mind control. It was awful.

 

On the ride back to the Overwatch base, Lúcio sat next to Mani. Main wasn’t sure if it was out of solidarity or an obligation or just a habit picked up from the time they apparently spent together. Neither of them spoke for the whole ride, but somehow it wasn’t awkward. Mani felt a sense of familiarity that he could tell went beyond his fractured memory.

 

Once they got back to the base, everyone split up. The debriefing would be in an hour, and in the meantime, the agents could unpack and decompress. Mani didn’t know what to do, so he just walked back to his room and sat dazedly on his bed. 

 

How long it would be before Mani would be done? How many more people would he have to use his stupid, unethical, inhumane, grossly overpowered ability on? Why couldn’t he have just lived a normal life? Mani had so many regrets and guilt and no way to fix it.

 

Time passed quickly, and Mani was pulled from his self-pitying spiral by Athena’s cool voice informing him that it was time for the debrief meeting. He left his room and made his way to the conference room. 

 

When he got there, everyone else was already there. Mani felt everyone’s eyes on him as he took the only open seat, right next to Lúcio; a slight comfort, but not enough.

 

“Now that everyone is here, please explain what happened on this mission, and make sure to note any damage we may have to explain,” Soldier 76 directed.

 

“There was no damage. We staked out security, found the weak point, which was the east bridge. We took a car to a point 250 meters away from the complex and Agent Zarya and Detainee Hersteller entered Volskaya’s residence. Hersteller subverted the Talon pressure, and we got out without a problem,” Ana said.

 

“Would anyone else like to add anything?” Soldier 76 asked. Everyone looked at each other. There was nothing else to say. No one had been injured, not even the guards. “Alright then. I need your personal reports by next Tuesday. Now go rest.”

 

Everyone started standing up and leaving. Mani was moving towards the door when Lúcio gently touched Mani’s back to get around him. Burning heat flashed across Mani’s body, and then he was on the floor. His vision grew dark, and his eyes closed.

 

_ “That’s not fair! You can’t compare those movies, they have completely different themes and plots,” Lúcio said. _

 

_ They were in a cafe. Somewhere in Italy, maybe? Mani was drinking a cinnamon latte. Lúcio was eating some sort of sandwich. _

 

_ “But which one do you like more?” Mani asked. _

 

_ “They’re both really good!” Lúcio avoided. _

 

_ “You have to have a favorite,” Mani said. _

 

_ “Princess Bride,” Lúcio admitted. _

 

_ “It’s just so iconic,” Mani agreed. They both laughed. _

 

The memory dream started to fill with sickly purple smoke, but it seemed to be having trouble taking over. Mani felt nauseous as the smoke stretched and dissipated. 

 

Before the smoke could completely take over, Mani woke up. He was in a sterile white room with too-bright fluorescent lights. A blonde doctor was adjusting a biotic emitter next to him.

 

“Where am I?” Mani asked.

 

“You are in the medbay. You collapsed in the conference room. You have been out for thirteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds,” the woman said, as if she rehearsed it. She probably got those questions often.

 

“Who are you?” Mani asked, and it came out more aggressively than it should have.

 

“I am Dr. Angela Ziegler,” the woman, Dr. Ziegler said. Mani thought he recognized the name.

 

“You know Moira,” Mani said. Dr. Ziegler stiffened.

 

“I… yes. We know each other,” Dr. Ziegler said.

 

“So can you undo the brainwashing?” Mani asked.

 

“I do not know yet. I do not have access to that part of her research, so I would have to rely on my own to help you,” Dr. Ziegler explained.

 

“Is this connected to the brainwashing?” Mani asked.

 

“I have a few theories, but I am not sure yet,” Dr. Ziegler said.

 

“Where’s Lúcio? Isn’t he a doctor?” Mani asked.

 

“He was too busy worrying about you to actually help,” Dr. Ziegler said.

 

“How much longer do I have to be here?” Mani asked.

 

“After I finish checking your vitals, you should be good to go,” Dr. Ziegler said.

 

She did so promptly, and then Mani left the room. He walked around the corner, looking for a sign giving directions, and came face to face with Lúcio.

 

“Hey,” Mani said.

 

“Good, you’re okay,” Lúcio said.

 

“Do you know what happened?” Mani asked.

 

“When I touched you, you collapsed.  You were unconscious, so we took you here,” Lúcio said, “I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s not your fault. Really,” Mani said.

 

“I’m the one who touched you. And you already told me that it burned when I touched you last time,” Lúcio said.

 

“What do you think it is?” Mani asked.

 

“I don’t know, and I don’t like it,” Lúcio said. Mani looked down at the ground. He hated being the source of Lúcio’s distress. 

 

There was an idea forming in Mani’s head, and he wasn’t sure how he would explain it. And it would not be fun to pull off.

 

“I think… I might know what to do about it,” Mani said quietly.

 

“What?” Lúcio replied.

 

“Everytime you touch me, I get more memories back,” Mani said.

 

Lúcio didn’t say anything. Mani was almost too anxious to continue. He didn’t want to be wrong.

 

“Maybe if there’s… prolonged contact, I’ll remember everything,” Mani said, feeling his voice get softer with every word.

 

“You really think that would work?” Lúcio asked.

 

“I don’t know. I don’t really know anything. I hardly remember who I’m supposed to be,” Mani said, “And I get it if you don’t want to help, I don’t know how much we used to know each other but you always look sad when you look at me. You’re just the only person I can really trust right now.”

 

Neither of them spoke. Mani kept staring at the ground, like it might reveal the answer. Unsurprisingly, it remained dull blank steel. Mani was barely breathing, waiting for Lúcio to reply. It took a minute, but finally Lúcio spoke.

 

“If it’s what you need from me, I’ll do it,” Lúcio said. He sounded resolute, and slightly hopeful.

 

“Thanks,” was all Mani could say. “I have a kind of plan, but right now I need to eat.”

 

“Maybe you have changed a little bit,” Lúcio said, with a smile in his voice.

 

“What do you mean?” Mani asked.

 

“Most of the time I had to convince you to eat. Now you’re the one who’s suggesting it,” Lúcio explained, “Come on, let’s get food.”

 

~-~

 

Later, after they had eaten and unwinded a little bit, they went to Mani’s room. Mani didn’t want other people to see him in pain and potentially passing out.

 

When they got there, Mani wasn’t sure what to do. Lúcio must have seen the confusion on his face, because he shared his own idea.

 

“Why don’t you lay on the bed, so you won’t get hurt if you pass out,” Lúcio said. Mani nodded and did so.

 

“I don’t know how you want to…” Mani trailed off.

 

“How much contact are you comfortable with?” Lúcio asked.

 

“I don’t care,” Mani lied, “I just want to get my memories back.”

 

“Okay, then I’m going to do this.” Lúcio got into the bed next to Mani. He did it with such ease Mani had to wonder if he had done it before. “Are you ready?”

 

“I guess,” Mani said.

 

Lúcio wrapped his arms around Mani and pulled him closer. Instantly Mani felt like he was on fire. Warm pain danced along his nerves. His brain felt like it was melting. Mani closed his eyes.

 

_ Mani was pinned to the ground, Lúcio grinning on top of him. They were at the edge of a well. _

 

_ Then they were in the same position in a sandy beige building with a bridge outside it. _

 

_ They were dancing in sync at a poorly lit club. _

 

_ Lúcio was clinging to Mani’s back as they sped away from Vishkar. _

 

_ They were sharing a bed in the early morning, sun shining through curtains. _

 

_ Mani was lost in Lúcio’s eyes, and it was the middle of the night. _

 

_ They were dancing again, this time swaying slowly while Lúcio was holding Mani. _

 

_ Mani was watching the rise and fall of Lúcio’s chest when they shared a fold-out sofa. _

 

_ Purple smoke clouded his vision but Mani could feel Lúcio there, close by. _

 

Thousands of other moments passed in fragments through Mani’s mind. He couldn’t even keep track of them all as they flooded his senses. Time seemed to pass incredibly fast, but it couldn’t have been that much time. Mani’s mind was overloaded. He jolted awake.

 

The room was dark. But it wasn’t cold. In fact, Mani no longer felt the chill in his bones. He was warm in Lúcio’s arms. Lúcio was asleep, breathing slowly into Mani’s shoulder. Mani felt at peace. He adjusted his position, taking care not to wake up Lúcio, and went to sleep.

 

~-~

 

Someone was squeezing Mani’s stomach, hard enough that it hurt. Mani reached for the arms to pull them away. When he grabbed them lightly, Lúcio gasped, like he couldn’t breathe. Mani wondered what was wrong. He twisted around as best as he could and tried to wake up Lúcio.

 

Lúcio was still struggling to inhale, so Mani knew he had a time limit. He used the tactic Sombra had always used on him. He used his hand that wasn’t trapped to press the back of Lúcio’s neck. Lúcio’s breathing evened out slightly, and his eyes slowly opened.

 

“Are you okay?” Mani asked.

 

“Yeah?” Lúcio replied sleepily.

 

“You were suffocating, and it was like you were trying to hold onto me,” Mani explained.

 

“Oh, I… I’m okay now,” Lúcio said.

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Mani asked.

 

“How much do you remember?” Lúcio replied.

 

“Everything,” Mani said.

 

“You know what happened with the Calado building?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Oh. That’s… I get it,” Mani said.

 

“I was… I couldn’t save everyone,” Lúcio said, “And you--you were there. You were trying to help, and the ceiling fell, and I had to choose between you and someone else.”

 

Heavy silence took over. Mani didn’t think he wanted to know who Lúcio picked. He had a feeling he knew already.

 

“It’s over now. You saved all the people you could. It wasn’t your fault. It was Vishkar’s fault,” Mani said, voice turning bitter at the end. He had remembered his grudge against Vishkar, and now it was back tenfold.

 

“It still makes me feel guilty. What if I could have saved everyone?” Lúcio said.

 

“You’re still human. You can’t do everything,” Mani assured him.

 

“Twenty-three. That’s how many people I saved. You know how many people were in that area? Over a hundred,” Lúcio said.

 

“And some of them got out on their own, and other people were helping. You don’t have to carry the whole world,” Mani said. 

 

“It’s not that simple,” Lúcio said.

 

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never saved anyone,” Mani said.

 

“You saved me,” Lúcio said.

 

“That was different,” Mani said.

 

“How is that different?” Lúcio frowned.

 

“You were sacrificing yourself, and I was being selfish,” Mani said.

 

“You put yourself in danger to help me,” Lúcio pointed out, “That’s not selfish.”

 

“I did it… I did it because I didn’t know what I would do if you got hurt because of me,” Mani said.

 

“It worked out, though,” Lúcio said.

 

“Kind of,” Mani said.

 

They laid in silence for a minute.

 

“You remember everything, right?” Lúcio asked.

 

“Yeah,” Mani said.

 

“Do you need me to be here?” Lúcio asked.

 

“You can leave now, sorry,” Mani said.

 

“I mean, it’s okay, I don’t have to leave,” Lúcio said.

 

“Really?” Mani asked softly.

 

“Yeah,” Lúcio replied.

 

“I think I want you to stay,” Mani said.

 

“Then I’ll stay,” Lúcio said.

 

“Thank you,” Mani tried to say, but he was already mostly asleep.

 

~-~

 

The door slid open. Someone laughed in disbelief. Mani blinked awake. It was Hana.

 

“Why is he in here?” Hana asked quietly.

 

“I asked him to be. He helped me get my memory back,” Mani explained.

 

“By… sleeping with you?” Hana implied.

 

“No! I mean, we did end up falling asleep, but I figured out that physical contact restored my memories. It did hurt a lot though,” Mani said.

 

“Okay, so what am I supposed to tell Soldier?” Hana asked.

 

“How much time do we have?” Mani asked in turn.

 

“Maybe five minutes,” Hana guessed.

 

So Mani could wake up Lúcio and let him go back to his room. He lightly prodded Lúcio, eliciting a grunt and some shifting.

 

“Come on, Lúc, Soldier is coming,” Mani said softly.

 

That got a reaction. Lúcio opened his eyes and sat up, letting go of Mani. Mani saw Hana restraining giggles.

 

“What time is it?” Lúcio asked, voice gravelly with sleep.

 

“0755,” Hana informed, an innocent smile on her face. Lúcio gave her a questioning glance.

 

“You should get to your room before Soldier gets here,” Mani said.

 

“Okay, yeah, probably,” Lúcio said. He started detangling himself from Mani and the blankets.

 

“See you later,” Mani said, a soft smile on his face.

 

Lúcio got out of the bed and walked out the door with Hana. Mani heard her say something along the lines of “you guys are gross.” Mani sighed; he had a lot to think about.


End file.
